First topic message reminder :
The following rant may well belong in another category, but I can't think where...
Short story first....
...I was issued with a valid drivers licence in Australia way back in May of 1965 and since that time I have never been without a current and valid licence, regardless of where I was residing/working etc...this often meant that I would be holding a legal/valid licence for
more than one country, or state, at the same time, all the time keeping my Aust one current. No legal issues involved. No traffic infringements, no accident history, no restrictions or sanctions ever imposed anywhere....squeeky clean history. Early 2004 I moved to the UK and because I thought I would probably reside there for the rest of my life, I chose to do the "right thing" and obtain a UK drivers licence so I attended the closest DVLA and began the process. It's worth a mention that I had been driving for some 39 years and held valid classifications for normal cars, LGV, HGV, RoadTrain (up to 250 tons GVW and 3 trailers), All classes of bus or coach (single and double deck, rigid body and articulated), Taxi, Hire car, Motorcycle (unlimited capacity), any type of tractor or agricultural implement (tracked or wheeled). My logbook (certified and validated) clearly showed that I had recorded a little over 4 MILLION miles operating/driving all of the above classes, including many miles on UK roads driving a tour coach on UK and European roads and had been through many checkpoints without a problem...the young lady on the counter that day in Lincoln would only give me a licence to drive a manual car...and I had to hand in all of my other licences before I could get a UK version.
Let's jump forward to this situation...
...I noticed a couple of days ago, that my UK licence had expired and decided to go for a Bulgarian one. I don't drive very much these days, but it would be handy to have a valid one. Mrs Bazz popped up to the local KAT (Plovdiv) office and asked about what needed to be done. The answer might surprise some of you...
The applicant needs to provide proof of having a current first aid certificate, PLUS a current medical examination, PLUS a verifiable certificate showing that he/she has completed year 8 of schooling and that he or she has undertaken a certain number of hours of driving school training. The fact that I have earned two degrees mean nothing...I have a BA and a B.Sc and I can't prove I actually went to High School, because if those records ever existed , they have been lost. I have all my Uni records but they will not be accepted because the bit in the middle is missing.
The strangest bit is about to be revealed...as many of you know, I'm a retired airline pilot...I used to fly for one of the best companies in the Western world and I used to fly into and out of this country on a very regular basis...my credentials were NEVER questioned, nor should they have ever been. If I could sit at the controls of an aircraft, with 200+ people, sitting behind me, trusting my judgement to keep them safe...why do I have to jump through these hoops, just to drive to the corner store???
I'm sorry if I've bored you stupid.
JB
Fri Feb 10, 2017 6:02 pm
