Licence revoked

[nbrown67]

Hello All

I understand a lot of diabetics are having the same problem as my daughter she has type 1 diabetes and as recently informed dvla although she has never had a serious hypo she ticked the yes to having a hypo on the form and following this has had her licence revoked. i can only think it is in error. has anyone else had a similar problem and how did it get resolved. I am also a diabetic and run my blood sugars high and get early warning signs around the 7-8 mark . it sounds that the new law suggests everybody keep their sugar levels high and run the risk of complications. My daughters is under tight control therefore the chance of a low blood sugar is increased. she realizes when her sugar levels are getting low but this seems to have no significance on their decision. Please can anyone offer advice on what course of action to follow.

Thank You

 

[Elc1112]

Hi. Sorry I hear about your daughter's license. I'm afraid I cannot offer any advice, but I know there are others on here who have been in a similar position.

You can appeal the decision but will usually have to provide x months worth of readings to prove you are hypo free - hard if you're a type 1!

Hope somebody can offer some more helpful advice soon

Take care, Emma

 

[phoenix]

THe licence should only be revoked if your daughter or her doctors have said that she has has more than one serious hypo in a year (ie one that has required the assistance of someone else) or that she is totally hypo unaware.

There has been some clarification of the forms recently because their have been several people who have answered the forms incorrectly.
http://www.iddt.org/about/living-with-diabetes/driving/
The article dated June describes the new guidelines for filling in the form.
this second link makes it clear how doctors should deal with driving licence forms (It wasn't clear to them either) http://www.iddt.org/about/living-with-d ... sed-to-do/

If she did answer it incorrectly using the older guidelines then I would contact them but I get the impression that it may be an uphill battle; the DVLA don't seem to move very quickly. There are people who have appealed and eventually won their cases. I don't think it's easy, one person I know used a specialist soliciter and if my memory serves me correctly that was a revocation caused by the doctor filling in the form incorrectly.


One point to be remembered is that the revocation is not permanent. A person is able to reapply when they have had no more than one hypo requiring assistance in a year or after they have 'regained' awareness.

 

[iHs]

Things like this make me fairly upset and extremely angry over the DVLA's action in revoking licences. It's way way over the top and is unnecessary. I'm not sure whether the person reviewing the application has gone and made a mistake or whether your daughter has filled the form in incorrectly. On the older forms, I think people were asked about how good their awareness was and had to tick boxes to say at what level their bg level had fallen to before they felt hypo and then the decision to revoke was made on that bg level.....

It really does though,... question the safety of the commonly used analogue insulins in the type of hypo awareness that these insulins give. The older types of insulin were far better in that respect and people knew more or less the times of day that their bg levels might dip and either avoid driving or eat some food so that they could be safe. Nowadays with the rule to test Bg levels before driving should improve the safety and I hope people will realise all this and not take things for granted too much. 5mmol is only going to safe to drive if you can be sure that it wont fall any lower. If you're not sure THEN EAT SOME CARB OR SWEETS. Simples....

 

[Paul_c]

it doesn't help matters that some surgeries are now starting to restrict test strips for insulin users...

 

[iHs]

Believe it or not..... lots of GP surgeries have not got a clue about the latest DVLA revelation. The DSN at my surgery didn't know a thing until I told him to look. This was after he questioned me about bg testing and told me that the surgery had patients on set doses of basal/bolus, tested just twice a day and got excellent hba1c results of 6.5%. He was of course lying through his teeth as no one could have an excellent a1c like that unless they tested bg really frequently especially on set doses of insulin..........

 

[noblehead]

Believe it or not..... lots of GP surgeries have not got a clue about the latest DVLA revelation. The DSN at my surgery didn't know a thing until I told him to look. This was after he questioned me about bg testing and told me that the surgery had patients on set doses of basal/bolus, tested just twice a day and got excellent hba1c results of 6.5%. He was of course lying through his teeth as no one could have an excellent a1c like that unless they tested bg really frequently especially on set doses of insulin..........

Not being told that patients just test twice a day but I did have a gp in my practise say that 4 times was sufficient........WRONG!!

Told him on MDI I need to test before each meal and test before and during driving if on long journeys, not forgetting testing before sleep or testing after a hypo to see if bg has returned to a safe limit, only changed his mind when my diabetes consultant wrote him a letter.

 

[Pattidevans]

FWIW it is now a legal requirement to test before driving and every 2 hours during a journey or multiple short journeys. Many GPs seem unaware of this legal requirement. A guide to completing your driving licence application can be found here http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consu...n/@motor/documents/digitalasset/dg_202154.pdf It does a good job of clarifying how to fill in the forms and clearly states your legal obligations on page 6. If necessary I suggest printing it out and presenting it to your GP.

It also clearly explains the position regarding hypos - I think previous versions were much more woolly... hey ho... must fill in the forms that have been sitting on my desk for a week.

 

[nbrown67]

Thank You All for your comments

We have since found out that the doctor who carried out the medical exam made a mistake and ticked the wrong box to the question is the patient aware of when they are having a hypo. He has sent a letter to dvla and spoke to them but according to dvla the matter can take months to resolve and a new license needs to be applied for . This is causing my daughter major upset as she starts a new job in a couple of weeks and without her license would need to relocate or pay taxi fares as her employment is not on a bus route. Has anyone else had a similar experience and would she be able to seek compensation from the doctor/surgery involved

Thanks for any advice

 

[noblehead]

We have since found out that the doctor who carried out the medical exam made a mistake and ticked the wrong box to the question is the patient aware of when they are having a hypo. He has sent a letter to dvla and spoke to them but according to dvla the matter can take months to resolve and a new license needs to be applied for . This is causing my daughter major upset as she starts a new job in a couple of weeks and without her license would need to relocate or pay taxi fares as her employment is not on a bus route. Has anyone else had a similar experience and would she be able to seek compensation from the doctor/surgery involved

Not sure as I've never been in this position, perhaps having a chat with your local Citizens Advice may provide the answers.

 

[Pattidevans]

Thank You All for your comments

We have since found out that the doctor who carried out the medical exam made a mistake and ticked the wrong box to the question is the patient aware of when they are having a hypo. He has sent a letter to dvla and spoke to them but according to dvla the matter can take months to resolve and a new license needs to be applied for . This is causing my daughter major upset as she starts a new job in a couple of weeks and without her license would need to relocate or pay taxi fares as her employment is not on a bus route. Has anyone else had a similar experience and would she be able to seek compensation from the doctor/surgery involved

Thanks for any advice

A similar scenario happened to someone else. She was able to have a taxi paid for by "Access to Work" for the time it took to resolve her case. She also got excellent legal advice at a much reduced rate from a sympathetic solicitor and eventually had her licence restored.

 

[nbrown67]

Hi Patti

Thank you for your help we will try access to work tomorrow. would you be able to give a bit more detail on time scales to get resolved and did the person you know gain any compensation

Thanks again Neil

 

[iHs]

I have just thought about something. I applied for my license to be renewed 2 years ago and then there was just an advisory section about testing blood sugars to make sure that they were not below 5mmol.

With the new changes now making it a legal necessity, has anyone been informed by post by the DVLA about the latest update? I only know about it all from reading peoples messages on forums.

 

[smidge]

Hi Nbrown!

This situation makes me so angry - it is nothing but legalised disability discrimination. A doctor makes a genuine mistake (it shouldn't happen, but it does) and the DVLA revoke a license and refuse to move quickly to rectify the situation. Is there any other area of life where an organisation is allowed so blatantly to discriminate against people who are covered under the DDA? Sorry for the rant, I know that doesn't help your daughter! On a more helpful note you could try contacting the Diabetes UK helpline for some advice. They have a legal team, so would probably be able to give you correct advice on what to do next.

Smidge

 

[Pattidevans]

Hi Patti

Thank you for your help we will try access to work tomorrow. would you be able to give a bit more detail on time scales to get resolved and did the person you know gain any compensation

Thanks again Neil

I have sent you a PM with more details regarding "Access to work" since your daughter is classed as disabled they will help with transport.

 

[Osidge]

I know that it would not help in Neil's daughter's case but for those who have their license revoked because of diabetes and can access bus services (and all transport services in London), revocation of a driving license for medical reasons is one of the conditions that entitle you to a disabled persons free bus pass (or in London a disabled persons Freedom Pass).

Regards

Doug