A heavy goods vehicle driver fears he will be unable to work for the next six months as he waits on the results of a medical investigation.
Barry Warrener has driven HGVs for 36 years but told the ECHO he fears he will have to resort to using his savings for the next six months. Mr Warrener must pass a medical before returning to the wheel and he claimed the situation is "putting drivers out on the street".
The 57-year-old from Bootle said he knows countless drivers who have decided to step away from the industry because of the lengths some have to go to when renewing their licences. He added he feels he now needs to speak up about the working conditions he says he and some colleagues are facing.
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Mr Warrener now faces a tough six months of uncertainty where he will have to rely on his savings, he claims. He said: "It's going to put me in a troubling situation. I'm going to have to use what savings I've got to get me through it.
"I don't have children and I'm only in a flat that costs me 110 quid a week. I know I'm going to have to go and ask a family member for a loan - it's not right.
"But it's not just me - there's plenty of other drivers. I'm single and I'm struggling so imagine what it's like for a family."
Mr Warrener, who has driven HGVs since he was 21, has more recently been working as an agency driver as he claims it gives him greater control of his time. With nearly four decades experience driving in the city he has worked for almost every company and during the pandemic drove medical supplies including vaccines and PPE.
But because he's an agency worker he added he won't be taken on for any work with just a "section 88" while his licence is cleared by the DVLA. The section 88 can allow a driver to continue driving while their application is being processed by the DVLA.
Mr Warrener has been offered the chance to drive smaller vehicles but the uncertainty about how many days' work he'll be able to get has put him in another difficult position as any benefit payments will be reduced if he works. He added: "If I work a day they'll take a load of money off me.
"I'm a proud man - I want to work and I don't like having to do this. But I'm in the situation where I've got no choice."
Mr Warrener said a standard HGV licence is renewed every five years before drivers then have to successfully complete a medical to get back behind the wheel. He said if something is flagged in the medical then the time between the renewal drops depending on the severity of the condition.
Mr Warrener had two stents put into a vein on the outside of his heart in 2018, so now has to renew his licence more often. He said: "There's nothing wrong with me - I could go out now and go jogging. I'm only on blood thinners because of the two stents."
The 57-year-old said he faces six months out of work because he claims medical licences are taking longer. When the time it takes for him to be medically signed off as fit to drive is factored in, he says he is looking at half-a-year of no work.
Mr Warrener said: "I got my licence renewal at the end of last month and it ran out last week. Anyone with any sense would send the licence renewals out 10 weeks ago."
A DVLA spokesperson confirmed that medical licences were taking longer as they were 'wholly reliant' on receiving information from a medical professional before a licencing decision can be made.
The spokesperson said: “There are no delays in applications from bus and lorry drivers, which are being processed within 5 days. However more complex transactions, for example if medical investigations are needed, will take longer. Where we require information from a driver’s doctor, we are wholly reliant on receiving this before a licensing decision can be made.
“We have recruited more staff, increased overtime and opened new customer service centres in Swansea and Birmingham to help reduce waiting times for customers.”
