MPU & foreign licenses

[passsar 0]

Last summer whilst driving through Germany I was pulled over and drug tested and failed the test showing positive for THC.

I was driving on my UK license in my UK vehicle.

I was fined on the spot 500 euro for the prosecutor to drop the case.

I was then sent a letter from the local administrative office fining me £1122 which I paid.

I have now received another letter instructing me that I need to complete an MPU psychological exam.

Before I proceed I will say that I know what I have done is wrong, and will not do it again. The huge amount of money I have paid along with the trouble it caused my trip has been enough to put me off stopping smoking it for good. Even at the time I believed I was clean as many hours had passed since I smoked, but I was not aware how long this stuff stays in your system...

As I am not a resident of Germany or a German speaker it is going to be nearly impossible for me to complete an mpu.

My question relates to to the foreign license loophole for not completing the mpu. This is described here:

https://www.toytowngermany.com/forum/topic/117661-drunk-driver-dodges-suspension-with-polish-license/

As such now that I have paid the fines (the second of which was in exchange of a ban, which apparently could not be enforced on a non eu license).

Is the MPU ban enforceable on my license? or can I use the foreign license workaround?

Thankyou for your help

[LeonG 14,796]

As far as I know, the only thing they can enforce would be to forbid you from driving in Germany on your UK license.  I seem to remember someone on here saying they got a little sticker on their UK license from German authorities stating that it is not valid in Germany.  If you don't need to drive in Germany, no problem.  If you want to visit, take the train.

 

As for the other EU license loophole, this thread you found from 2008 is incomplete.  It has been discussed in detail on other threads.  The way the loophole works is like this.  If you have gotten a driving ban like a month or 3 or something, you complete that first.  When nothing is stopping you from driving except the lack of MPU, you can apply for a drivers license in a country where they don't have MPU (pretty much everywhere except Germany and Austria).  Take the test, get the license and voila.

 

However, the trick is that in order to have the right to get this other EU country drivers license, you must live in that country for at least 6 months.  They are cracking down on this.  I know a guy who tried going through a company that was going to get him a Czech Republic drivers license.  He paid them 3500€ and went through the whole process of registering a 2nd address in Czechia and waiting 6 months before taking the test only to be told after that that he needed to prove his 6 months stay in Czechia with rental agreement, pay slips, utility bills, phone bills, bank statements etc., none of which he had since he hadn't actually been living there.  No help from the German company.  They were in hot water themselves, got investigated for tax evasion.

 

Even if he had been successful in getting the license, if German police had pulled him over and seen it, they also could have investigated whether he had lived in Czechia and could have confiscated his new license.

 

You may find through further search that infractions requiring MPU tend to expire off your record in 10 years but actually if you don't have a German license, that clock only starts ticking if / when you get one.

 

 

[scook17 247]

In the UK you can take a driving test with an interpreter. I assume the same would be true in Germany.

https://www.tuev-nord.de/en/private/traffic/psychology-medicine/medical-psychological-assessment-mpu/

 

[BayrischDude 2,071]

@passsar, have you spoken with a lawyer?  The first thing I see is possible double jeopardy.  As you paid the fine in Germany, why did you pay another in the UK for the same offence?  The EU has a rule wherein the fine can be transferred to one's resident country to be paid- with other member states.  Now that the UK is no longer a member... not sure how that plays out.  Moreover, as the UK is out and this is a traffic violation, why did the UK fine you?  Makes little sense.

Next, good on you to admit your...mistake.  However, again a lawyer.  THC can remain in one's system for about three months.  So the offence of impaired driving...?  Could have been easily argued.  But I suppose this is a done deal.

Lastly, MPU.  Why bother?  If you live and work in Scotland, Germany can demand FA.  This is where a lawyer should be helpful.  You paid your fine and owe German nothing.  Unless you are here often for work, I see no reason and unless the UK want involvement and I see no reason why.  They left the EU and one of the reasons were arbitrary laws that the UK disagree with. 

Bottom line:  Talk with a solicitor.  This entire matter is...bawbaggery!

[passsar 0]

Hi LeonG, Scook17 and BayrischDude, Thankyou for taking the time to respond to my thread.

 

Leon G, thanks for all of the information about the loophole.

 

I am actually half Greek and half English and own a home there so have all related records - bills proof of ownership etc.

 

Do you need to re take your test or do you just convert the license to a Greek one (in this case)?

 

Even if I am a genuine resident of another country is it worth pursuing this if the German police wont respect the new license?

 

in terms of the 10 year time out not starting if you don't have a German license, what happens then? is it indefinite ?

 

 

Scook17 thanks for the idea! I will look into the feasibility of a translator

 

 

BayrischDude I have not spoken to a lawyer.

 

First I made a mistake in my first post. The second fine was to the German authorities in euros not pounds. I apologize for the mistake.

 

I really hope that they do not contact the British Authorities !!!

 

But I have not spoken with a lawyer as the situation has escalated. on the night the police said if I paid the 500 euro then that would be the situation over. then the letter came from germany asking for 1122. and I thought that would end the matter. then this arrived...

 

now I am thinking that I should contact  one as I have no idea what might come next...

 

but it is irritating to not be able to drivee through Germany as I drive around Europe a lot and it makes certain routes very difficult. eg getting to Denmark

 

But the huge difficulty in completing this for what may end up only being hours here or there of driving is difficult to justify...

 

thanks again for all your help !! 

[Lenny Nero 34]

4 hours ago, passsar said:

on the night the police said if I paid the 500 euro then that would be the situation over. then the letter came from germany asking for 1122. and I thought that would end the matter. then this arrived..

Traffic offenders regularly receive a double whammy: The traffic fine - which could be collected on the spot - and the admin fee for suspending or revoking the license etc.

In your case it wasn't a mere traffic offense: Driving under the influence (THC, some other illegal substance or alcohol) can qualify as criminal offense, so the 500 EUR did likely close the criminal proceedings. The other "fine" is actually the admin fee for the admin process of suspending your license.

[LeonG 14,796]

10 hours ago, passsar said:

I am actually half Greek and half English and own a home there so have all related records - bills proof of ownership etc.

 

Do you need to re take your test or do you just convert the license to a Greek one (in this case)?

 

Even if I am a genuine resident of another country is it worth pursuing this if the German police wont respect the new license?

 

in terms of the 10 year time out not starting if you don't have a German license, what happens then? is it indefinite ?

 

I don't know if it matters whether you take the test or convert in this case.  Most Germans in this situation would probably have to take the test because their license has been taken away so they don't have one to convert.  Since it doesn't say on the license whether you took the test or converted, I'd say save yourself a bit of hassle and convert.

 

If you are a genuine resident of another country, German police would have to accept your new license.  This is not illegal.  If they were to pull you over and if they were to realize that you are the same person who they pulled over with a UK license before and were ordered to take an MPU, they could ask you how you got a Greek license and you'd say you moved to Greece for  6+ months and got your Greek license, they could say you should prove it and if you can, there is nothing they can do about it.

 

If you never get a German license, then yes, as far as I know, you'd always be subject to an MPU in Germany.  Your options would be to take the MPU, not drive or move to another EU country for 6+ months and get a new license there.  Needless to say, they will not allow you to convert your new EU license to a German one should you want to do that.

 

I would not recommend you to take the MPU in Germany even with a translator.  It's expensive and there's no guarantee that you'll pass. 

 

[keith2011 2,575]

Not withstanding the good stuff above I would echo the advice from  @BayrischDude and suggest the OP should seek legal advice in the UK. Whilst it looks OK for the German police to take a €500,- on the spot fine I am not at all sure what the 1122 GBP was all about, if it was admin fee for a process to take away you license how come you still have your UK license? Post brexit I am not at all sure how driving offences subject to disqualification committed in the EU can be enforced in the UK but there is no way the German authorities can enforce a local requirement, the German MPU, on a non resident  UK citizen. It is ridiculous  and unworkable to expect a non German (citizen, resident and speaker) who commits a driving offence whilst passing through Germany and pays the fines, to return and take a psychological exam in German so as get back the driving license they haven't lost. That's crazy.

[passsar 0]

On 16/02/2023, 21:48:48, Lenny Nero said:

Traffic offenders regularly receive a double whammy: The traffic fine - which could be collected on the spot - and the admin fee for suspending or revoking the license etc.

In your case it wasn't a mere traffic offense: Driving under the influence (THC, some other illegal substance or alcohol) can qualify as criminal offense, so the 500 EUR did likely close the criminal proceedings. The other "fine" is actually the admin fee for the admin process of suspending your license.

Thanks for your help Lenny,

 

That is what I did not understand. The police officers said if I paid the 500 euro then the prosecutor would drop the case. to my understanding this would be over with that.

It is now months later that I have started receiving these letters.

 

The first I did not understand as an "administrative charge" we don't have anything like that. The officer said it was much larger at 1000 euro as they could not take my license. So it sounds similar to what you are describing. In the UK we dont have administrative charges so this seems very strange to me (along with handing police 500 cash in the middle of the night). The police would deal with it all in one hit.

 

But I accepted this without fight as a lesson learned situation. It is the ongoing ban / MPU is far more difficult to deal with.

 

[passsar 0]

On 17/02/2023, 03:47:08, LeonG said:

 

I don't know if it matters whether you take the test or convert in this case.  Most Germans in this situation would probably have to take the test because their license has been taken away so they don't have one to convert.  Since it doesn't say on the license whether you took the test or converted, I'd say save yourself a bit of hassle and convert.

 

If you are a genuine resident of another country, German police would have to accept your new license.  This is not illegal.  If they were to pull you over and if they were to realize that you are the same person who they pulled over with a UK license before and were ordered to take an MPU, they could ask you how you got a Greek license and you'd say you moved to Greece for  6+ months and got your Greek license, they could say you should prove it and if you can, there is nothing they can do about it.

 

If you never get a German license, then yes, as far as I know, you'd always be subject to an MPU in Germany.  Your options would be to take the MPU, not drive or move to another EU country for 6+ months and get a new license there.  Needless to say, they will not allow you to convert your new EU license to a German one should you want to do that.

 

I would not recommend you to take the MPU in Germany even with a translator.  It's expensive and there's no guarantee that you'll pass. 

 

Thanks for clarifying all this LeonG,

 

By far the clearest explanation of this law given by anyone ! I even had a response from a judge on another thread!!

I do not think I will ever need a German license, I just need to be able to cross the country every now and then. Which is why it is so irritating to have such a restriction. To pay thousands to cross over the country a few times in life...

 

So I will most likely just trade my license as it seems to be the most reasonable route to redemption.

 

Before I give up on them, do you think there is any point trying to negotiate with the Landkries? offering to do a course here in England or something else? or is it a no hope situation?

 

I would just rather have a more official route to being able to drive if possible...

 

Thanks again !!

[passsar 0]

On 17/02/2023, 10:01:18, keith2011 said:

Not withstanding the good stuff above I would echo the advice from  @BayrischDude and suggest the OP should seek legal advice in the UK. Whilst it looks OK for the German police to take a €500,- on the spot fine I am not at all sure what the 1122 GBP was all about, if it was admin fee for a process to take away you license how come you still have your UK license? Post brexit I am not at all sure how driving offences subject to disqualification committed in the EU can be enforced in the UK but there is no way the German authorities can enforce a local requirement, the German MPU, on a non resident  UK citizen. It is ridiculous  and unworkable to expect a non German (citizen, resident and speaker) who commits a driving offence whilst passing through Germany and pays the fines, to return and take a psychological exam in German so as get back the driving license they haven't lost. That's crazy.

 

Hi Keith, Thanks for your advice

 

On the first point about the UK fines, I made a mistake on the OP. The second fine was in euros, to the Landkries Reutlingen. Not to the Uk gov. It was just sent to me in the UK.

 

As I said above, I really hope that the UK Gov does not also take action on this. Your post has made me feel more confident of this.

 

And on the second part of your post. Thankyou !! It feels like I am on some insane merry go round of box ticking at the moment. and the other forums have been so aggressive towards me for just trying to understand what I can do and what is going on.

 

I paid 500 so they did not take my license / not prosecute

I paid 1122 so they did not enforce a ban that they could not enforce

and now as you said, I do test in another language and country to get back my license that I have not lost.

 

As I asked above do you think there is any point trying to negotiate  doing the MPU with the Landkries? offering to do a course here in England or something else?  due to the difficulties in me being able to do it? or is it a no hope situation?

 

Thanks again for your sympathetic ear and your help and advice

[keith2011 2,575]

5 hours ago, passsar said:

As I asked above do you think there is any point trying to negotiate  doing the MPU with the Landkries? offering to do a course here in England or something else?  due to the difficulties in me being able to do it? or is it a no hope situation?

I can imagine that getting legal English/German advice and representation is going to be expensive so I would suggest it could be worthwhile if you write a letter to the Landkries first, pointing out that you are British, resident in England not Germany and you do not speak German and as such you believe it would be unfair to expect you to take an MPU in German in Germany. You can also say you are willing to do an equivalent test or course in England in English although you are not aware that there is one. Write it in English and do a google translation to German which I would place at the top of the page but include the English version below with an explanation that you have included the original in English in case there are any issues with the google translation.

Make sure you send it Registered or Recorded delivery so you can prove if necessary that you have responded, German bureaucracy has a tendency to ignore communications which they know the sender can't prove have been received.

Hope that helps

[LeonG 14,796]

9 hours ago, passsar said:

Before I give up on them, do you think there is any point trying to negotiate with the Landkries? offering to do a course here in England or something else? or is it a no hope situation?

 

They are very strict with their MPU and don't recommend trying to take it abroad, see article here:  MPU im Ausland machen? - Infos zur Fahrerlaubnis 2023 (bussgeld-info.de)

 

Although asking about it is free, it is possible that they'll say they will look at it and once you'll have it, they could say nah, not good enough.  The MPU for people who were picked up for alcohol or drugs usually includes 6-12 months of random pee and hair follicle tests and even passing them may not be enough.  You could do all that and they might still say nah, not 100% convinced that this will not happen again.  There's something like a 40% fail rate on the MPU.

[passsar 0]

Hi KeithG and Keith 2011,

 

Thankyou again for your advice!

On 01/03/2023, 09:15:30, keith2011 said:

I can imagine that getting legal English/German advice and representation is going to be expensive so I would suggest it could be worthwhile if you write a letter to the Landkries first, pointing out that you are British, resident in England not Germany and you do not speak German and as such you believe it would be unfair to expect you to take an MPU in German in Germany. You can also say you are willing to do an equivalent test or course in England in English although you are not aware that there is one. Write it in English and do a google translation to German which I would place at the top of the page but include the English version below with an explanation that you have included the original in English in case there are any issues with the google translation.

Make sure you send it Registered or Recorded delivery so you can prove if necessary that you have responded, German bureaucracy has a tendency to ignore communications which they know the sender can't prove have been received.

Hope that helps

 

Keith, that is fantastic. I will do exactly that! I believe that it is definitely worth petitioning them to see if there is some other more practical route to me paying my dues. If nothing comes about I can revert back to the foreign license exchange. I will even point out my dual nationality and access to changing my license in hope that they see I want to do the right thing, if possible...

 

Also thanks for the idea to post it recorded to them, I would not have thought at all to do that and would have just emailed them...

 

On 01/03/2023, 14:10:29, LeonG said:

 

They are very strict with their MPU and don't recommend trying to take it abroad, see article here:  MPU im Ausland machen? - Infos zur Fahrerlaubnis 2023 (bussgeld-info.de)

 

Although asking about it is free, it is possible that they'll say they will look at it and once you'll have it, they could say nah, not good enough.  The MPU for people who were picked up for alcohol or drugs usually includes 6-12 months of random pee and hair follicle tests and even passing them may not be enough.  You could do all that and they might still say nah, not 100% convinced that this will not happen again.  There's something like a 40% fail rate on the MPU.

 

Thankyou for that link LeonG, Very useful and I read numerous other articles on the site which were very informative.

 

I tend to agree with you. I think that they will not accept it. But as it is only a letter it is worth a shot. I spoke with someone else in another thread, and they said that they were refusing to let him deviate from the procedures at all.

 

However as I said before I would rather deal with this in the correct channel if possible so will fully exhaust that option first...

 

I will update the thread as soon as I hear back from the Landkries.

 

But if I am forced to exchange my license it looks like I will be among the last to be able to use the loophole: 

Driver disqualifications with EU-wide effect: an end to impunity for severe offences

To prevent impunity among road traffic offenders, a new system will be put in place, allowing for an EU-wide driving disqualification when a Member State decides to disqualify a driver because of an offence committed on its territory.

Holding road traffic offenders accountable in all Member States is essential for road safety. However, under current rules, when a serious offence results in a driving disqualification, it cannot be enforced EU-wide if the driver committed the offence in a Member State other than the one that issued his/her driving licence.

Today's proposal covers severe road traffic offences such as excessive speeding, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and causing death or serious bodily injury as a result of any traffic offence. 

 

https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_1145

 

 

Once again, thankyou both for your time and help

[LeonG 14,796]

5 hours ago, passsar said:

If nothing comes about I can revert back to the foreign license exchange. I will even point out my dual nationality and access to changing my license in hope that they see I want to do the right thing, if possible...

 

I would be careful with that.  They could take it as you planning on getting a license exchange without living there for 6 months. If you mention it, include that you are living in Greece for 6 months per year.

 

5 hours ago, passsar said:

But if I am forced to exchange my license it looks like I will be among the last to be able to use the loophole: 

Driver disqualifications with EU-wide effect: an end to impunity for severe offences

To prevent impunity among road traffic offenders, a new system will be put in place, allowing for an EU-wide driving disqualification when a Member State decides to disqualify a driver because of an offence committed on its territory.

Holding road traffic offenders accountable in all Member States is essential for road safety. However, under current rules, when a serious offence results in a driving disqualification, it cannot be enforced EU-wide if the driver committed the offence in a Member State other than the one that issued his/her driving licence.

 

I do not see this as closing the loophole. IMO what they are saying is that currently if you have a non German license and lose it in Germany, they can not enforce it outside of Germany. The person could continue driving everywhere else. 

 

The proposal is that they will be able to enforce it in all of the EU. That is you losing your license in Germany means no driving in all of the EU. 

 

What it doesn't specify however is that you must get rehabilitated in the country where you lost your license, in this case by taking the mpu in Germany. In the EU, you are supposed to acquire or renew your license in the country you live in or if you just moved, in your new country after living there for 6 months.

 

This is the loophole. 

 

As far as I see, you would still be able to move to another EU country, stay there for 6 months and then apply for a new license. You can tell them exactly what you did in Germany and that you are subject to an mpu and if they don't have an mpu in this country, they will tell you that and instead they require you to do x and y according to their own rules. This could be by serving a ban of a certain amount of time, having to take courses, having to take the drivers test again etc. Once you are rehabilitated in some EU country and have your EU license, other EU countries will have to accept it.

[passsar 0]

17 hours ago, LeonG said:

 

I would be careful with that.  They could take it as you planning on getting a license exchange without living there for 6 months. If you mention it, include that you are living in Greece for 6 months per year.

 

 

Thanks again, I will make that clear. I think I will not even say which country it is as they are not aware of my dual nationality (I took the Greek passport after being arrested & because of Brexit) in case they try to make any issues...

 

17 hours ago, LeonG said:

 

I would be careful with that.  They could take it as you planning on getting a license exchange without living there for 6 months. If you mention it, include that you are living in Greece for 6 months per year.

 

 

I do not see this as closing the loophole. IMO what they are saying is that currently if you have a non German license and lose it in Germany, they can not enforce it outside of Germany. The person could continue driving everywhere else. 

 

The proposal is that they will be able to enforce it in all of the EU. That is you losing your license in Germany means no driving in all of the EU. 

 

What it doesn't specify however is that you must get rehabilitated in the country where you lost your license, in this case by taking the mpu in Germany. In the EU, you are supposed to acquire or renew your license in the country you live in or if you just moved, in your new country after living there for 6 months.

 

This is the loophole. 

 

As far as I see, you would still be able to move to another EU country, stay there for 6 months and then apply for a new license. You can tell them exactly what you did in Germany and that you are subject to an mpu and if they don't have an mpu in this country, they will tell you that and instead they require you to do x and y according to their own rules. This could be by serving a ban of a certain amount of time, having to take courses, having to take the drivers test again etc. Once you are rehabilitated in some EU country and have your EU license, other EU countries will have to accept it.

 

I see! So these new laws will be very limited in this area. I will still try to get this all done and dusted before the new laws are passed in case there are any changes to what is proposed.

 

It seems to me that the MPU is just incompatible with the EU legislation in such cases and it does not seem to be changing luckily.

 

Is the MPU generally popular / accepted / effective in Germany? I have seen lots of varying opinions reading around the subject, but that can be due to people being bitter about being banned... It just seems a bit crazy that even German nationals need to be coached on how to pass a psychological examination as an accepted route to rehabilitation. Just interested to see how people felt about it

 

Also, do you think that I need to say to the Greeks what happened in Germany under the current legislation ?

 

Thanks again for all your help :)

[LeonG 14,796]

7 hours ago, passsar said:

Is the MPU generally popular / accepted / effective in Germany? I have seen lots of varying opinions reading around the subject, but that can be due to people being bitter about being banned... It just seems a bit crazy that even German nationals need to be coached on how to pass a psychological examination as an accepted route to rehabilitation. Just interested to see how people felt about it

 

Also, do you think that I need to say to the Greeks what happened in Germany under the current legislation ?

 

The MPU is not something a lot of people talk about IMO unless somebody has to take it.  Knowing someone who was supposed to take it, when he was telling people about it, some would share that they had to take it or knew someone who had to take it.  I don't remember anybody saying serves you right you bastard or anything like that but I remember one guy saying he took it and passed, somebody saying he had a relative who had failed twice, somebody saying he was trying a loophole to get a czech license and somebody saying that she had lived in Berlin and about half the population there seemed to have Polish licenses.  I think that it's not something people want to protest because after all, nobody wants more drunk drivers on the road but when it's on a personal level and someone you know is having a problem getting their license back, I get the feeling that people are not that opposed to loopholes being there. 

 

Is it effective?  The more hassle you have in getting your license back, the more you learn.  The one guy above who said he passed the MPU pretty easily continued to drive drunk until he ran into his daughter who was a cop and she gave him a piece of her mind.  The guy I know who ended up spending probably 7,000 on MPU and a loophole with no results and who ended up not having his license for about 2 years, he learned his lesson I think.

 

As for what you say to Greek authorities, you answer what they ask you.  If one of the questions is if you are under suspension in any EU country, you would have to say yes.  This could result in you having to do some sort of rehabilitation to get a Greek license rather than a straight exchange.

 

[keith2011 2,575]

8 hours ago, passsar said:

Is the MPU generally popular / accepted / effective in Germany? I have seen lots of varying opinions reading around the subject, but that can be due to people being bitter about being banned.

 

My only knowledge of the MPU was from a colleague, she did not actually commit a driving offence but was caught in possession (at a concert I think)  of a small quantity of wackybacky, no prosecution but some months later she got a letter saying she must take an MPU (or something similar, it was a while ago)  if she wanted to keep her diving license, it involved counselling and providing urine samples. Must unfair I thought, just because  I regularly drink more alcohol than the allowed limit for driving does not mean I would drive over the limit and need to take an MPU. Even if I did drive after drinking too much the police would have to catch me and it would/should  be up to a court to decide the punishment. Way way OTP in my opinion.

BTW the colleague was a regular smoker and continued to do so as soon as she got through the test.

[jeba 4,345]

20 hours ago, LeonG said:

 when it's on a personal level and someone you know is having a problem getting their license back,

A MPU isn't only required to get your licence back, but also if you want to get a license in the first place when you're still below the age of 18. I had to take it when I was 16 so that I could get a license at age 17 ( I order to help in my dad's business).

[passsar 0]

On 04/03/2023, 09:39:08, LeonG said:

 

The MPU is not something a lot of people talk about IMO unless somebody has to take it.  Knowing someone who was supposed to take it, when he was telling people about it, some would share that they had to take it or knew someone who had to take it.  I don't remember anybody saying serves you right you bastard or anything like that but I remember one guy saying he took it and passed, somebody saying he had a relative who had failed twice, somebody saying he was trying a loophole to get a czech license and somebody saying that she had lived in Berlin and about half the population there seemed to have Polish licenses.  I think that it's not something people want to protest because after all, nobody wants more drunk drivers on the road but when it's on a personal level and someone you know is having a problem getting their license back, I get the feeling that people are not that opposed to loopholes being there. 

 

Is it effective?  The more hassle you have in getting your license back, the more you learn.  The one guy above who said he passed the MPU pretty easily continued to drive drunk until he ran into his daughter who was a cop and she gave him a piece of her mind.  The guy I know who ended up spending probably 7,000 on MPU and a loophole with no results and who ended up not having his license for about 2 years, he learned his lesson I think.

 

On 04/03/2023, 10:10:38, keith2011 said:

 

My only knowledge of the MPU was from a colleague, she did not actually commit a driving offence but was caught in possession (at a concert I think)  of a small quantity of wackybacky, no prosecution but some months later she got a letter saying she must take an MPU (or something similar, it was a while ago)  if she wanted to keep her diving license, it involved counselling and providing urine samples. Must unfair I thought, just because  I regularly drink more alcohol than the allowed limit for driving does not mean I would drive over the limit and need to take an MPU. Even if I did drive after drinking too much the police would have to catch me and it would/should  be up to a court to decide the punishment. Way way OTP in my opinion.

BTW the colleague was a regular smoker and continued to do so as soon as she got through the test.

 

On 05/03/2023, 06:30:17, jeba said:

A MPU isn't only required to get your licence back, but also if you want to get a license in the first place when you're still below the age of 18. I had to take it when I was 16 so that I could get a license at age 17 ( I order to help in my dad's business).

 

 

Well it seems that the opinion around the MPU can vary around the reason getting it, how hard it is to get back and the cost. It seems some issuances of it seem very harsh such as if you are arrested away from a vehicle etc. But then most are reasonable eg if you are young or get caught driving under influence repeatedly. If you end up spending thousands and years getting your license back it will build resentment. If you get it back quick and easy less so. It also makes sense that the more hassle / cost the lower the chance of re-offending. In my case it would not seem so hard to complete if I were there... This extra trouble has really made such an act an impossibility in the future. But still very interesting to hear public opinion, not from people complaining about the test in online forum's.

 

On 04/03/2023, 09:39:08, LeonG said:

As for what you say to Greek authorities, you answer what they ask you.  If one of the questions is if you are under suspension in any EU country, you would have to say yes.  This could result in you having to do some sort of rehabilitation to get a Greek license rather than a straight exchange.

 

 

Thanks LeonG, I will have to see what they say in Greece if and when I apply to cross over. I just looked it up and in Greece it is simply a fine, so I would just have to pay more money I believe, if they do ask...


I have drafted this letter to the Landkries and thought I would see if you guys had any opinion on things to add remove. I decided to leave the fact I can exchange my license out and can mention it in a later letter in case it puts there back up. Anyway, I would be keen to hear any improvements!

 

Dear Landkreis Reutlingen,

I am writing to discuss the decision to require me to undergo the MPU psychological examination following my arrest for driving under the influence of drugs in Reutlingen, Germany.

As a non-German speaker and resident of the UK, I face significant challenges in completing the MPU examination. I have not been able to locate a English speaking MPU preparation centre in order to understand the test prior to commencing. I can’t speak the same language as the examiner and have nowhere to stay in Germany to do this or even now anyone that lives there. The culmination of these factors makes my undertaking the MPU extremely challenging in comparison to a normal citizen. However, I assure you that I am committed to addressing any underlying issues that may have contributed to my drug use and improving my driving skills.

I understand that my actions were irresponsible and potentially dangerous, and I deeply regret any harm that may have been caused. As I explained to the officer at the time, my consumption had been many hours prior to driving, I was just not aware of the long period of effect THC has. However, I believe that I am capable of learning from this mistake and becoming a responsible, law-abiding driver.

I am very willing to undergo driving / drug rehabilitation for drug addiction in my own country (UK), and I am currently making progress towards becoming drug-free. I understand the importance of the MPU examination in ensuring the safety of all road users, and I am willing to cooperate fully with the examination process. If you are aware of any programs that I could complete in the UK that would fulfil the criteria of the MPU I would gladly complete them.

I assure you that I am committed to making positive changes in my life and becoming a responsible and safe driver, despite the challenges that I may face in this process as a non-German speaker and resident of the UK.

Thank you for your consideration.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Once again, thanks for all your help, advice and guidance :)