Man blames Viagra overdose for car tax dodging

Failing to pay your car tax is no laughing matter as one motorist found out the hard way after the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) were alerted on their computers to his expired tax disc.

Tracking him down to his house, the DVLA however were perhaps not prepared for the dubious excuse he provided them for his misdemeanour – a Viagra overdose.

The blue diamond shaped pill known as Viagra is a highly popular treatment option for erectile dysfunction by helping the blood vessels to relax in your penis.  It is worth bearing in mind that Viagra will only help you to get an erection if you are sexually stimulated or aroused and works for up to about 4 hours.

This means there is plenty of time to be spontaneous with your partner – but also plenty of time to pop down to the post office to renew car tax on any given day!

Obviously for privacy and to spare his blushes, the man’s name has not been disclosed, but his excuse for not going to his local post office to renew his car tax did not go down well with the DVLA and he was promptly hit with a fine.

Carolyn Williams, head of digital services for the DVLA, says they receive plenty of ridiculous reasons for failing to renew tax, and this is up there with the worst, especially since motorists can now renew their tax online without ever needing to leave their home.

She said: “The vast majority of people tax their car on time and it is easier than ever before. But it amazes me to see the excuses people come up with.”

Motorists who either do not renew their car tax on time or declare a vehicle off-road can face a fine of £80 — increasing to £5,000 for the worst offenders.

Besides the common excuse of “my dog ate the reminder”, other absurd reasons Carolyn says they have heard include one motorist claiming they had fallen from a tree picking plums, whereas another said the bookies was much more tempting than paying car tax; “There was a horse running at Doncaster called Don’t Do It — so I bet on that with my car tax money instead. It lost.”

Whether the man mentioned earlier really did overdose on Viagra is open for debate. The recommended dose for the majority of patients is 50mg taken as required, one hour prior to sexual activity. Depending of tolerance and effectiveness, this dose can be increased to 100 mg or decreased to 25 mg, with a maximum recommended dosing frequency of one per day.

If you suspect you have overdosed on either Viagra or sildenafil citrate (the active ingredient in Viagra), you must seek emergency medical attention immediately. Some of the symptoms for a Viagra/sildenafil overdose include: Arrhythmia (irregular heartbeats), chest pain as a result of dilation of your blood vessels resulting in Hypotension (low blood pressure), severe dizziness and a painful/prolonged erection.