SeniorRailcard v Disabled Railcard

[Class800]

Deafness, of course, doesn't.

It does affect ability to perceive situations safely as a driver, such as approaching traffic at junctions, and approaching sirens

 

[AlterEgo]

The Disabled Railcard isn’t necessarily linked to your ability to drive. There are myriad conditions which don’t impede driving but which attract the payment of PIP or other benefits which qualify you for the Railcard.

 

[Vespa]

I have a disabled railcard, I've just renewed it, the website asked me to upload a photo as well, when I got my plastic card there is no photo on it.

Interesting to know the difference between senior and disabled railcards.

 

[Class800]

I have a disabled railcard, I've just renewed it, the website asked me to upload a photo as well, when I got my plastic card there is no photo on it.

Interesting to know the difference between senior and disabled railcards.

Could inform Information Commissioners Office that personal data were requested and not used - as per GDPR, but depends if it's important to you

 

[Deafdoggie]

It does affect ability to perceive situations safely as a driver, such as approaching traffic at junctions, and approaching sirens

But you can still drive. The DVLA are happy for you to be deaf and be a bus or lorry driver too. Some insurance companies give you a discount as you have much more visual awareness and, statistically, are much less likely to have an accident.

 

[island]

Photos are personal data, and as such under GDPR, should only be requested if there is a legitimate purpose - i.e. it will be put on the railcard

There is a legitimate purpose namely preventing and detecting crime by misuse of Railcards.

Whether that is spelt out properly and in a compliant way in their privacy statement is of course a separate question.

 

[gray1404]

It is totally inappropriate that they are asking for a photo for applications and renewals. It is not required and they are not doing this for telephone bills or postal renewals or applications. So yes a complaint does need to be put in about this and that the matter is not resolved he needs to go to the information commissioner's office

 

[AlterEgo]

I don’t get why this is actually a problem.

 

[Bletchleyite]

It does affect ability to perceive situations safely as a driver, such as approaching traffic at junctions, and approaching sirens

It is however safely mitigable (is that a word?) - because if it wasn't the use of audio equipment in cars would be prohibited, or at least it would require a calibrated, regulated upper volume level. Thus it doesn't make driving considerably more difficult nor less safe.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 25 Mar 2022 ==

I don’t get why this is actually a problem.

It's a GDPR breach to collect Personally Identifiable Information (which in this specific context a photo is) when you don't have a purpose for it. You can't collect data speculatively.

The fix is just to print photos on all Railcards. There is no particular reason not to and it reduces/prevents use by people for whom it was not purchased.

 

[AlterEgo]

It's a GDPR breach to collect Personally Identifiable Information (which in this specific context a photo is) when you don't have a purpose for it. You can't collect data speculatively.

The fix is just to print photos on all Railcards. There is no particular reason not to and it reduces/prevents use by people for whom it was not purchased.

I get that it may be technically a breach, but if it is one that is solved by simply sending you back a photo of yourself on a card then I don’t see what actual problem there is. Some people here have too much time on their hands!

 

[WesternLancer]

I get that it may be technically a breach, but if it is one that is solved by simply sending you back a photo of yourself on a card then I don’t see what actual problem there is. Some people here have too much time on their hands!

I agree, I don't personally think it's a problem, and would not be to me - it's just that it is now illegal I suspect (subject to their agreement wording terms I guess) due to GDPR laws. I don't think ATOC/National Railcards or whatever they are called now should be doing illegal stuff, and I doubt they think that really.

 

[island]

It is totally inappropriate that they are asking for a photo for applications and renewals. It is not required and they are not doing this for telephone bills or postal renewals or applications. So yes a complaint does need to be put in about this and that the matter is not resolved he needs to go to the information commissioner's office

Let me know the outcome when you put in a complaint to the Rail Delivery Group.

 

[WesternLancer]

The Disabled Railcard isn’t necessarily linked to your ability to drive. There are myriad conditions which don’t impede driving but which attract the payment of PIP or other benefits which qualify you for the Railcard.

Yes, as I said up thread, I think it is more about a reflection on what people saw as a 'disability' back in the 1970s when the card was introduced and the eligibility criteria drawn up then, which has I suspect evolved since. Of course the link to things like PIP / Attendance Allowance etc creates a link to evolving definitions of disability as defined by Government / Parliament too.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Let me know the outcome when you put in a complaint to the Rail Delivery Group.

If wanting a GDPR breach resolved, the Information Commissioner would be the way to go. Most businesses run quite scared of them!

 

[island]

If wanting a GDPR breach resolved, the Information Commissioner would be the way to go. Most businesses run quite scared of them!

It's usual to address complaints to the business and give them an opportunity to resolve them prior to escalating to government bodies.

 

[Haywain]

If wanting a GDPR breach resolved, the Information Commissioner would be the way to go. Most businesses run quite scared of them!

Isn’t the first point of contact the organisation collecting the data concerned?

 

[Bletchleyite]

It's usual to address complaints to the business and give them an opportunity to resolve them prior to escalating to government bodies.

Isn’t the first point of contact the organisation collecting the data concerned?

You've dealt with the railway before, right?

 

[coppercapped]

All I need to do now is find my hearing aid prescription, and I'm good

I obtained my Disabled Railcard - now stored on my phone - by submitting a scan of my NHS hearing aid battery issue docket showing my name. No need for the prescription.

 

[gordonthemoron]

I obtained my Disabled Railcard - now stored on my phone - by submitting a scan of my NHS hearing aid battery issue docket showing my name. No need for the prescription.

I don't have NHS hearing aids, I went privately, and I've found the documentation, so when my Senior Railcard ends next February, I'm good to go

 

[David57]

I was informed on Wednesday at my local station (quite a large one), that they could process disabled railcards there and then, and needed to provide a photo. Once I had pointed out both those anomilies, the young lady came back and said that I seemed to know more about the subject than she did, and was most apollogetic!

 

[mmh]

The list of eligibility criteria is quite interesting - and I suspect a 'social document' in itself in that I wonder if it reflects a 1970s (when the card was introduced?) view of 'disability' - in as much as I suspect that, for example, hearing loss of the level required to obtain the Railcard may now be more common, given the larger number of people living longer and who may suffer from it for age related reasons maybe, than would have been the case back in the 1970s. Just speculating this on my part.

It's notable that the disabled railcard criteria are far more prescriptive than those to get a car blue badge. The railway.

 

[lachlan]

But you can still drive. The DVLA are happy for you to be deaf and be a bus or lorry driver too. Some insurance companies give you a discount as you have much more visual awareness and, statistically, are much less likely to have an accident.

You can still drive, like how you can still drive if you're blind in one eye, but it may be less safe. I find it interesting when drivers complain about pedestrians and cyclists wearing headphones yet deaf people are allowed to drive and most people will have their radio on.

 

[Vespa]

You can still drive, like how you can still drive if you're blind in one eye, but it may be less safe. I find it interesting when drivers complain about pedestrians and cyclists wearing headphones yet deaf people are allowed to drive and most people will have their radio on.

Deaf people use their eyes more and do look out for things, those wearing headphones etc are in a world of their own not being aware of danger round them.

 

[Haywain]

Deaf people use their eyes more and do look out for things, those wearing headphones etc are in a world of their own not being aware of danger round them.

Maybe, but people in cars with loud music…

 

[Blinkbonny]

For what it's worth, my wife is quite deaf and uses hearing aids (and yes, she has a railcard!)

We were driving once down a small country lane when some idiot in a hurry came up behind us and started blasting his horn as he thought my wife was going to slow for his liking. My wife said to me, "Goodness, there's something badly wrong with his engine. He needs to get that seen to!"

She had totally misinterpreted the noise he was making. Hearing aids are exactly that - an aid. They don't restore proper aural functioning.

That limits her driving ability to an extent. Travelling by train, with it's myriad announcements and alarms, she functions. I'm happier when she has a companion.

 

[Vespa]

Maybe, but people in cars with loud music…

That's because of idiots not disability allowing themselves to be distracted.

 

[Haywain]

That's because of idiots not disability allowing themselves to be distracted.

Yes, it was in response to the comments about cyclists using headphones.

 

[Deafdoggie]

Travelling by train, with it's myriad announcements and alarms, she functions. I'm happier when she has a companion.

I'm happier just taking my hearing aids out and not being told to see it say it sort it.
You can drive lorries & buses when you're deaf, the only requirement from the DVLA is that you can "use a phone in an emergency situation" but generally this relates more to speech, as you simply call 999 and state you're deaf that you can't hear any responses and you'll say everything twice.

 

[BluePenguin]

In theory I think it's meant to be related to whether the disability affects the person's ability to drive - but this is a bit nebulous.

I agree, the website does not make that very clear though

I have dyspraxia and cannot drive. Judging stopping distances and multitasking are both very difficult for me. Despite 3 different driving instructors I have never been able to get up to passing level. Although this alone does not make me entitled to a railcard. However I am going to see when I try applying later this year

 

[3rd rail land]

It's also available for some very minor disabilities, such as if you need a hearing aid in one ear (which is how my Dad has one, he'd not consider himself disabled). I'd rather have my hearing than a Railcard, but equally I'd rather have his lack of hearing in one ear than my post-thrombotic syndrome, which doesn't even qualify!

I wear hearing aids due to having mild hearing loss. The hearing aids give me the same level of hearing as someone without hearing loss and I don't consider it a disability. When my 26-30 railcard finally expires, I'm 31, perhaps I could apply for a disabled railcard. I don't feel like I should be entitled to one but a quick look on the railcard website suggests I am!