Pennsylvania Probationary Drivers License to a Standard Drivers License

In a previous post, I stated how the departmental review for a probationary license works.

Well, now I will follow up with the experience of getting back a standard driver's license in Pennsylvania once the Pennsylvania Probationary Drivers License concludes.

My situation was that I had a Probationary Interlock License which meant I could only drive a vehicle with the interlock installed and also could only drive from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. by default. These hours were fine for me. They can be changed for valid reasons such as work, school, or medical reasons.

So, about two months before my Probationary License was about to expire I called the toll free number to PennDOT to speak to a "specialist" about my license and what I needed to do. Understand, I still have this ignition interlock in my vehicle and paying $85 a month for it isn't what I consider cheap. So, what do I need to do to continue driving and have my interlock uninstalled after my one year was up.

I was told I would need to get form DL180, which is for a learner's permit, have a physical, go to the nearest driver's center and take the knowledge test, followed by the eye examination.

To make it short, just do everything over. I asked, "So, I drove a vehicle for a year and now I have to go and take all the tests to show I can drive?" I was told yes.

So, here is the funny thing. The $63.75 check that I sent in early  July to renew the probationary license was cashed on July 17th and now I was informed in August - one day before my probationary license expired - that I would have to get a driving permit and complete the tests in order to continue driving. I was told there was a "processing error" and the form submission could not be completed, although the check was cashed.

I asked it would have been nice if I could have been informed maybe a month, even two weeks before my probationary license expired. I was just given the typical "I don't know how this happened". Then I was also informed I would need to submit forms DL-16 and DL-17, which state I own no vehicles in Pennsylvania that required insurance and the other form stating I will send in my license, no longer have the license, or it expired. In my case, it expired.

The only good thing out of this conversation in futility was that I was given a PennDOT Fax Number and then after submitting the forms, I received a call five days later from a PennDOT worker who processes the forms from that fax number.

Here are some PennDOT Telephone and Fax Number for getting your license back quicker.

PennDOT Fax Number: 1 (717) 705-2404 You should address the Fax to Mr. Roderick.

Telephone Number for talking to an actual human being WHO CAN PROCESS YOUR NEEDED FORMS: 1 (717) 787-4220 The lady I spoke to was named Lou. She also informed me that Mr. Roderick was out of the office for two days so she would process the forms. Thanks Lou!

If you have been frustrated trying to get your Pennsylvania Driver's License back, maybe this information can help. By the way, I had my permit the next day after talking to Lou and passed my drivers test four days later. I'm all set and will be driving safely and securely. Oh! how it feels to be free again to live life like an adult.LP - 336 Danger - High Voltage Driver License Plate - 287 (Google Affiliate Ad)

Convert your Wordpress Blog to Blogger

How to import your Wordpress Blog or Site to Blogger

Ok! So you have a Wordpress Blog and would like to import it into a Blogger account. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, Yes and No. If you have a small Wordpress export file, less than 1 MB, it's real simple.

Export your Wordpress by going to Tools -> Export in your Admin Panel at your Wordpress blog. I saved All content in the Export area. Then, take your saved file and go to the Wordpress to Blooger app and upload your file. There is a maximum size of 1 MB allowed. Although, I read some people were able to use it successfully when their file was between 1 and 2 MBs.

After, you download your now converted file, log into your Blogger account or create a new one. Then go to Settings -> Import Blog and upload your converted file. You should now have all posts, comments, and pages.

But my Wordpress file is much larger than 1 MB

So you have the same problem I had. Well, there is a solution. My database was nearly 50 MBs. I used a news fetching feeder plugin the updated the site once daily. I had over 21,000 posts. I could of used a text editor and cut down the file manually about 50 times, but I had better things to do. After searching Google, I finally came across a cool little app that was free and did only one thing and only the one thing I wanted. It allowed me to import and XML file. That is the type of file you exported from Wordress and then specify how big of a file I wanted it split into. I selected 1 MB and hit the Split Files button. Now, I had the right file size to upload over at the Wordpress to Blogger App site.

Now of course I had to do this about 50 times and then proceed to upload the files about 50 times to Blogger, but that is my dilemma due to the number of posts. Of course, now I have all my content still on the web with no hosting or domain fees anymore.

So, if you need to convert your Wordpress Blog to a Blogger account give it a try. Here are the links again.
Wordpress to Blogger Site. Converts your Wordpress Export File into a Blogger format

Ranger Pretzel Site. XML Splitter App. Let's you split large XML files into a smaller size you specify.



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