Northumberland carer Annie Coltman-Thomas is back behind the wheel - more than a year after waiting for her driving licence to be reissued.
Annie's long road to freedom started in September 2020, when she blacked out while driving on the A19. She was advised to stop driving for six months while the cause of the blackout was investigated.
Neither Annie nor anyone else was hurt in the incident, when her car drifted over to the central reservation, which Annie put down to stress after losing her fiancee earlier that year.
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"I have had no blackouts since and I had not had one before," said Annie, who lives with her 25-year-old twin daughters, who are also carers. "I had just lost my fiancé earlier that year, and I think everything was just getting on top of me and it was down to stress."
When the six months were up, in March 2021, Annie's GP and neurologist were happy for her to drive again, so she applied so she applied to the Government's licencing agency for her driving licence to be re-issued.
"I waited and waited," said Annie, 56, who works at The Willows Care Home, in Bedlington. "I sent everything off together with a letter from my neurologist at the RVI confirming I was cleared to drive. I changed my name by deed poll while my licence was away, so I had to resend everything again.
"Because I had no licence, I had to declare the car off the road on a SORN declaration, and have to keep the car at my late finance's house in Killingworth because I don't have off-road parking at home and SORN cars can not be kept on a public highway. I couldn't get car insurance because I didn't have a licence which proves I am fit to drive."
But now Annie is celebrating her new-found freedom after receiving her licence back last week. "I can't believe it, after all this time," she said.
"The first thing I did was get my car back on the road. Now there's no waiting for buses to and from work, no more asking my daughters for a lift and no more booking taxis on a Sunday morning after my night shift. I can now plan a holiday too. I've never felt so happy, truly, l haven't.
"I was endlessly being told by DVLA that my application is being processed and I had to be patient, but they can't tell me how long it will take, and I was told that I couldn't drive until I got my licence back. I have driven a car most of my life and I think unless you have done that, you can't imagine what it's like to have it taken away from you."
A DVLA spokesperson said at the time: “When considering an application to issue a driving licence we aim to make a decision as quickly as possible. However more complex transactions, for example if medical investigations are needed, will take longer. We’re sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.
“Although we can't comment on individual cases, once a driver has submitted their application they may be able to continue to drive while we are processing it, provided they have not been told by their doctor or optician they should not drive.”
The DVLA has come under fire for the length of time it is taking to process replacement driving licence. It has previously apologised for the disruption which it blamed on Covid and social distancing at its main office in Swansea.
But the apology was cold comfort to those who have been passed fit to drive by medics but, like Annie, have had to wait months to get their licences back.
Earlier this year, ChronicleLive told of teacher Claire Shorting, 40, of North Shields, who was forced to rely on her husband and friends to ferry her three children around after her licence was revoked following a vertigo attack last year.
She only received her licence back nearly six months after she was cleared for driving by her consultant, and she slammed the DVLA for the hold-up, which, she said, was not good enough.
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