DVLA revoked Driving Licence

[aquiss]

I wonder if anyone can give me a bit of advice to offer to a friend and her family.

Let me give you a bit of a back story, though I won't go into detail. For the past 18 months I've been supporting a friend who has tried to commit suicide 3 times due to life events from when she was 11, which triggered minor Epilepsy (now controlled by meds). Life events have caused Anxiety, Depression etc, mean that 3 years ago she started drinking to point she now is a confirmed addict.

After all involved working very hard, 2 days before Christmas we got her into one of the leading UK rehab centres, where she completed 3 months of residential rehab and now into aftercare and turning her life around, she's a different person and only been looking forward.

Yesterday she got a letter from the DVLA telling her that her Driving Licence has been revoked for 12 months based on information they had received, back dated to December. She's literally has not been driving for over 6 months and not a single point on her licence.

Due to her controlled Epilepsy, she has to have a medical every 3 years, however, the DVLA have said, whilst she has been rehab the DVLA have made contact with her GP, who was aware she was in rehab (but he's not actually been involved in her recovery) and they have to used that as their assessment. It's not the Epilepsy they have revoked it for, but due to drinking.

She literally started driving again a week ago to keep her life back on track, getting to aftercare and local AA evening meetings. At the exact time she's doing amazing, they have taken the one tool she needs more than ever to turn her life around and now won't be allowed to drive until December.

Does anyone know if this can be appealed or reduced in time? Medicals, driving assessments etc?

 

[TheFoX]

I'm not sure about appealing the temporary ban on driving, but my guess is the first port of call should be your friend's GP. Once they are satisfied that her condition won't affect her driving, they can inform the DVLA of their satisfaction, and the DVLA should then lift the temporary ban.

 

[StuartK]

I don't think you can appeal it. Sending a letter with a doctors report can't hurt though. Don't ask then don't get.

 

[400ixl]

GP would be the place I would start, at the end of the day without their support, there is no appeal of any sort.

My father in law had a condition that stopped him being able to drive for a while and it was the GP that Instigated the stopping and approval to start again. The consultant in the hospital only provided supporting evidence to the GP, not the DVLA.

 

[whitenemesis]

Curious as to what prompted the DVLA to contact the GP?

 

[renault12ts]

My nephew is a meds controlled epileptic.

This resulted in a delay in learning to drive. Once he was well controlled he could learn, did so, got a car etc. then they changed his meds, he had a fit, and his licence was revoked for a year.

I know you say it is due to the drink, but I'd be surprised if the epilepsy didn't also have a bearing on the case.

 

[Deleted member 6183]

My late Dad had one epileptic fit in the 1970s and had to hand in his licence for 12 months, he never had another before or since, on the plus side we had a chauffeur for a year.

 

[davidjpowell]

I know a retired HGV driver. He's retired because of a fall and resultant head injury. His Consultant believes he is fine, but the DVLA will not be convinced by anybody or anything.

As you can imagine he has tried very hard.

 

[brucemillar]

GP's are bound by law to inform the DVLA if they think that you are in a position where you may have an incident as a result of ongoing condition(s)/treatment.

Standard practice is for the DVLA to issue a 12 month suspension. Your friends GP can write to the DVLA and request that this be revoked. A GP may well want to see a history of improvement before doing so.

 

[GP801]

The rules are actually pretty clear on this. Alcohol dependence "confirmed by medical enquiry" means at least a 1yr suspension. I think that being admitted for rehab is sufficient evidence for this to kick in. There is then likely to be an independent medical assessment including blood tests before the licence will be reinstated.
Also did the DVLA know about the epilepsy? They generally take a very dim view of people who dont tell them. Depending when the last fit was this is likely to play a part in their decision.

 

[oldguy57]

^^^ Yes I am sure that is the correct position. Disappointing for her but I guess the problem pales into insignificance compared to what she has already gone through. Good on you aquiss for supporting her through all this.

 

[st13phil]

GP801 has given good information. In addition, from another forum (the original question related to a licence being revoked due to diabetes, so different to this case, but useful information regarding who to contact):

Having had to stop driving three times because of medical issues and had my licence revoked twice on medical grounds I have some experience of dealing with the DVLA on these matters.

In order to get your licence back ASAP, the Medical Branch of DVLA is the department you need to contact. That is the department that will have revoked your licence (rightly or wrongly) on non-receipt of the D1 form.

IIRC, on the D1 form, the DVLA ask for your permission so they can contact your GP in order for them to get information on your medical condition.
You don’t really have much of an option but to give that permission because they will simply revoke your licence until they get the information they require.

So the Medical Branch will not only be waiting for the D1 form, they will also be waiting for a report from your GP on your medical condition.
In your case I suspect they will want confirmation that you can recognise the signs of hypos, etc and that you check your blood sugar levels regularly whenever you are driving (again IIRC, somewhere along the lines of every 2 hours for long journeys).

From my experience, the Medical Branch are happy to receive emailed or faxed copies of medical reports from your GP, they do not have to go via snail mail.
In my case, one of the consultants I saw faxed through a report to DVLA and, when I contacted them the next day I was advised that my licence had been issued that day and I could drive immediately

 

[zipdip]

I would think the patients doctor would be informed of any change in her condition while she was away in re hab,doctors are now obliged to inform the DVLA,the list of medical problems is a long one that the DVLA has to be notified of,also the insurance companies need to know,most of the ailments still allow people to drive,as long as the medication is such that it does not impair driving,we are heading slowly to a point where older drivers will have to understand that they will not be allowed to drive no matter what they are suffering from,at the moment they still have not understood that their doctor,may well call time on them.

 

[aquiss]

Thanks for the input guys/girls. Sorry for the late reply, we been out getting her a bike from Halfords this morning as she's determined not to let this get in the way of her recovery. Yes it means a 5 miles each way on bike, but it's what we got to work with at the moment.

It reads from the above that a due process is being followed. I'll feed all this back to her and family in a few mins. It sounds like as GP801 said, entering rehab has triggered systems into action. It's just come as a blow to the family and her as she was so focused right now.

I guess this is just another bump in the road we got to get her over, if she's not faced enough

 

[martyz]

Perfect solution! a bike will get her fitness back and the loss of her licence will
reinforce her recovery as another consequence of alcohol. I wish her well.

 

[Teflonso]

I know of two people who have had similar issues. One was a young kid who had some sort of fit at work on nights, admitted to intensive care, induced coma for two days, woke up with no ill effects, automatic 12 month ban. He was back on the road at midnight of the re-start date, no occurrence in the last 5 or 6 years, he's driving normally and no insurance problems. Arguably, his fit was due to working like a dog and not eating enough but with no clear cause the ban was irrevocable.

Another was a mate who suddenly had a day when he remembered nothing. Not his name, not his missus, zero, zip, nada. Blank face, really scary for everyone. Hospitalised and next day he was back to normal, ten years later it was a one-off never repeated with no identified neurological cause despite enough scans to make his brain glow in the dark. But it cost him 12 months off the road.

In contrast, a year ago I woke up in intensive care after a week with the lights out due to meningitis. I couldn't remember loads of things, not even my car reg or the wife's mobile number, not bouncing around the ambulance trying to kill the clock or the six people it took to hold me down when I got to A&E. I knew I had a Merc but had forgotten the Ford (there's a message there somewhere). The hallucinations for the next four days were like something out of a 60s acid trip. The consultant told me my brain had taken a real battering and I'd get some stuff back, some I might never remember. But no driving issues, presumably because I had suffered something clearly identifiable that was now cured and (touch wood) will never happen again.

I suspect the ban is going to be difficult to shift, but maybe it's worth having a chat to see if you can get the start date back dated to when things were at their worst?


.