Obviously not worth risking more trouble, I’m aware of that. And yes, am very lucky to have my license still. (although I still think the test is crappie as it doesn’t show whether I was fit to drive or not….)

Going away for three and ahalf weeks over new year to Italy. Would have used that time to do the ban in Germany.

I think ghostly is right.

@ edukator… There is no way, for as long as the UK is part of the EU, that iwant aGerman license. Nor do I honestly want to be a German citizen.

although I still think the test is crappie as it doesn’t show whether I was fit to drive or not….)

The UK used to have driving whilst unfit through drugs. Now we have tests and the law has changed, so similar to Germany now?

http://www.forsterdean.co.uk/cannabis-driving-limit/

You’re lucky you didn’t kill a cyclist.

That’s quite a leap. Everyone know’s it’s only nuns he goes for.

(ignoring the simple fact that it wouldn’t bloody matter what the person was doing at the time if he had killed someone and the fact this stupid argument has been done to death already)

Nuns?

@crashmonkey…. Yes they have atest, but it only proves that you have something in your system, not whether you are fit to drive…

Was being facetious, also couldn’t find a pic of a cyclist getting run over.

When I was a courier in that there London town, one of our riders was banned after being caught doing 123 mph down the Embankment, he was back on circuit the next day using a R.O.I. license.

Did that for the 12 months he was banned for. Got his U.K. license back and promptly got banned again, Mark 36 was a lunatic.

Do you have a British license still? Times have changed If I were you I would just take your lumps.

If your license is a UK one, the paper part is no longer required therefore you can’t drive on it – the photocard is the only part of the license (I think you said it was).

Anyway, glad it worked out relatively OK for you, it’s a pity that

a) Some people conflate drug use with drug driving (Come on – who would actually claim to be in any way worried about “morning after” drunkness 20hrs after drinking?)
b) People conflate taking drugs with having a problem. I drink coffee every day, and alcohol a lot of days. I don’t mix alcohol and driving, but that’s fine. Luckily neither will stay in my system for weeks at a time. Luckily they are legal. I can’t drink at times due to work and that’s fine.
c) People conflate breaking the law with being immorral. In the case of personal drug use, who’s potentially being hurt? Can’t we just be adult about this?

The odd spliff (or in the interests of health, special brownie) would be a nice thing to be able to have, but I can’t, it’s too much of a risk for me these days and I don’t knowingly have the contacts. I think if the issue is reaction times/judgement, have roadside reaction time or judgement tests. If it’s trying to make a delineation above which you’re a horrid drug fuelled/alcohol fuelled maniac and below which you are a responsible driver, that’s just not practical. And whilst I see the point of this being a deterrent, it should allow for people to have smoked at some point in the past week.

Anyway alpin, glad you didn’t get anything ridiculous thrown at you.

I know it’s a pain not to be able to drive but 4 weeks is nothing compared to a 6 months or a year.

Yeah I know he wouldn’t have killed anyone, I just wanted O.P. not to lose his licence for longer.

Ok…. It’s been a while…

Paid the fine, gave up my licence for a month back in January. Thought that this episode was behind me….

But yesterday the letter of doom arrived. The German equivalent of the DVLA has decided that I can no longer, for ever and ever, drive again in Germany, until such a time as I pass the year long MPU (medical and psychological tests).
That is, one year, every two weeks doing a pee pee test and convincing a psychologist that I’ve turned a corner in my life.
The MPU will cost north of 3.5k.

About to speak to a lawyer and see if he can wrangle it so that I can at least continue to drive whilst doing the test, or better still that they take hair samples. Have been clean since August other than a toke the other day, ironically the day the letter arrived.
😕

Blimey 😯

if the question is still “how hard?”
i think you should be provided something to bite down on.

Whilst it’s a sore one for you alpin, I must say I’m impressed by the strictness of the German DVLA in holding people to account.

You said 3 months ago that you were likely to have to do the MPU, and you smoked anyway?

That’s absolute bollox alpin, I guess i’d better not ever drive in germany then.

Best of luck appealing it, if it’s happened to you then there should be plenty of others who have been through the same process so hopefully your lawyer should be able to trawl through previous cases to see if there is a more favourable outcome possibility.

Move?

Jesus H Crosby!

I thought this country was a bit keen over recreational drugs.

Feel for ya man. That’s just daft. Time to get a bike and ride it out 🙂 Hopefully you don’t rely on your car for work? Not read the whole thread cos pitchfork-wavers everywhere.

Not saying driving whilst stoned is a good idea, but it does seem like it’s been singled out for cruel and unusual punishment. That’s even if you were stoned? I heard you can be done for having metabolites in your body… impaired or not.

Bet you wouldn’t have to see a psychologist for driving tired, or being distracted by kids/tech. Probably much more of a risk of impairment than driving with cannabis metabolites in your system. Or even driving baked if I’m honest.

But just say no. Drugs are illegal and therefore bad mkay.

Why prefer hair sample?

You could supply your gran’s clean piss I guess. Assuming they’re not a smoker.

Paid the fine, gave up my licence for a month back in January. Thought that this episode was behind me….

Have been clean since August other than a toke the other day,

🙄

So you’re going to try and appeal and ask for hair samples. Which will show you’ve used cannabis recently since getting busted for driving under the influence of cannabis, which as far as the authorities are concerned means you thought you’d got away with it and not modified your behaviour. Can’t see that playing well at an appeal.

STW is a pretty odd group…

Driving is generally frowned upon.
Driving while distracted by the radio/phone etc. is worse.
Driving while intoxicated by Alcohol is even worse.
Driving an Audi, while drinking and on the phone and everyone has the pitchforks out.

For some reason driving with metabolites in the blood which may or may not have an impact is OK with many. As far as I am aware the impact is not as well understood as the impacts and duration of Alcohol intake. For sure we have some way to go in terms of understanding, safety and driver training.

OP there are some rules that you have to follow if you want the privilege of driving a car. At the moment it looks like you will need to either follow them or move to a country with a different interpretation.

Whilst it might be an inconvenience to the OP, I can’t say I have a problem with Germany wishing its car drivers to be drug free. I wish they’d do the same over here…

Have been clean since August other than a toke the other day

HTH 🙂

^^ 😀

Yup…. Was clean up until the other day.

So,was an interesting, depressing yet still uplifting talk with my new lawyer friend.

They want me to prove that I’ve been clean for a year. If I go along next week and get the last six months growth tested and it proves negative (or at least with traces too small that the laboratory cannot say whether it was direct inhalation, i.e. passive smoking or just being in a smoke filled room (was in Copenhagen last week and sat in a smokey bar in Christiania Town)) then that may go towards me proving that I’ve been clean, meaning I’ve got another 6, not 12, months left to be abstinent.

The other reasoning is cost and ease. Each piss test costs ~45€ and you go along within 36 hours of receiving a random phone call to have a pee. They want at least one test a month. I’m not always local due to work so that would be difficult. The years worth of piss testing would also begin after the first wee.
A hair test costs 180ish, I already (potentially) have 7 months worth of good hair and would only need another 5-6 months worth of growth.

There is no way of getting out of the psychological test, however there are preparation courses on offer where they tell you how to answer the probing questions. So you don’t say “I only used to smoke when I have problems”, “ah!? Problems? What do you do now when you have problems? Drink?”

Yes, I need my licence some of the time for work. Did have two months of work lined up driving people’s luggage through the alps this summer. Have already told them I have a big job on elsewhere where my expertise is needed (bit of a white lie,but if I’m honest I’d rather have spent the summer driving through the alps and riding my bike than being in the workshop covered in dust).
The biggest impact of not being able to drive will be not jumping in the van to go south for the day and ride or spontaneous camping trips on my own.

Roast me.

You’ve literally learned nothing from the whole experience have you?

Good luck with the hair test.

Here, have some sympathy… Oh, hang on, I ain’t got none! 😀

I’m not looking for sympathy…. Merely saying it how it is.

Also quite cathartic to type it out.

Although, in case you are thinking that I had a toke and then drive, I will add that I’ve not driven for over three weeks. In fact I very rarely use the van other than to get out of town. Generally use the bike or public transport for any journey up to 20km…

Also quite cathartic to type it out.

You say that but having skimmed back through the thread, I just dont get the impression that you’ve really changed your attitude much. Yes, you admit it. Fairplay. But I’m left with the feeling that you’d rather do more to try and evade rather than address a basic lifestyle change that would see you clear of any further bother.

I get the feeling that you feel certain laws shouldn’t apply to you, simply because they don’t conform to your lifestyle choices. You’re being punished for breaking the law; those measures are designed to rehabilitate you, educate you and prevent you committing those crimes again…
But all you seem to be doing is moaning about what you perceive to be harsh treatment, and trying to weasel your way out of your punishment!
And it’s quite clear that you haven’t learnt a thing from this and will almost certainly continue to break the law!

Is there a risk that if you ask for a hair test to prove you have been off it for 6mo (go with me) and it detects your ‘other day’ use, that they’ll not only insist that you do the piss tests but also penalise further for your dishonesty at claiming to be clean for the last 6mo?

No expert, but suck it up and do it properly this time.

No expert, but suck it up and do it properly this time.

Seems like pretty solid advice, after the rather stupid breaking of a six month clean streak.

Whilst it might be an inconvenience to the OP, I can’t say I have a problem with Germany wishing its car drivers to be drug free. I wish they’d do the same over here…

Very much this.

I bet you got a good buzz off that toke though.

If it really was one joint then it’s “doubtful” you’ll test positive on a hair test. Do some research on what’s considered positive, detection levels etc. They have to allow a margin on any test and the odds of one joint taking you over what they allow for passive inhaling and experimental error are very very low.

I suppose it depends on how they test the hair as well. Do they snip little sections of it along its timeline so to speak, or do they test the whole lot in one go ?

Just a quick update….

Wanted to get my hair tested a few months ago, but due to my mum landing in hospital and me dropping everything to be at be bedside meant that I haven’t been here to get it done.

Eventually went along for the most expensive haircut I’ve ever had. Three small chunks taken from the bank of my head.

The result came through yesterday.

Negative. I’m clean.

This means in three months I can go along to a course where they will prep me in what answers to give the psychologist. Then I can register for the last hair test (and assuming it is also negative) I can visit the psychologist and hopefully get my license back.

b r – Member
Move?

Yup, it’s on the cards.