Driving Licence Suspended

donnellysdogs

Master
Messages
13,233
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Dislikes
People that can't listen to other people's opinions.
People that can't say sorry.
Worthwhile going to a MEP then? Rather than a MP?

I wondered whether other EU countries had brought in this interpretation of the EU ruling...I'll be seeing my step sister who lives in Spain in a few weeks. She isnt type 1 but will find out for me.
 

de130770

Active Member
Messages
26
i lost my lince over 15 years ago now.
i hade renewed my lince then hade server retna bleeding which the local hospital did not do any thing for over 9 mounths which turned out to be a detached retna.
was transfered to moorefields in london hade several ops would not regester me till i asked them if i was still able to drive got regestered there and then a few years down the line discharged from moorefields back to the local hospital after 2 years hade a lot of pain every week was going to the hospital was told for over 14 mounths there is nothing wrong
went to a difrent hospital ended up having steriods injections and eye drops but they took part of the eye in the end

i will say take a coppy of that letter you got from dvla
go to your local district council you shuld get a free bus pass
but try to fight dvla
david
 

martynlloydkelly

Active Member
Messages
29
Hello everybody!

Well, I've been busy :) Lots more signatures on the petition and hopefully more now with the unveiling of the official website! www.diabetesdvla.co.uk

I'm intending to keep this page as updated as possible, please signup to stay informed with developments and follow the official Twitter if you can!

The report on Granada was postponed unfortunately as they're still looking for a medical expert to comment upon the situation.

Hope you are all well and thank you all again for signing and sharing, lets keep it up, hopefully things will be more organised and communication will be easier with the addition of the site!

Just found this online, EU working group study on driving and diabetes. Quite interesting but not sure if this is the most recent EU study undertaken. Worth a read though.

Thanks, Diddly, I'll have a browse through this in a moment (getting this site online has been a real headache)!

Well done for doing something about this. You will find many posts on this site from people having similar problems. I have been waiting for nearly a year now for my licence to be renewed (see post 'Drivers Medical Appraisal'). At least I have a covering letter.
For information, the way that this has been enforced appears to be purely a UK interpretation of the EU directive, otherwise how is it that my brother (T1 like myself) currently living and working in Germany, has been told that he only has to have an eye test to get his driving licence renewed. Germany was in the EU last time I looked, the German authorities appear to trust their doctors to advise if they have concerns about somebody's ability to drive.
I will certainly be signing the petition

Indeed, this is standard practice, the EU issues a "directive" to each member state and each member state must meet the minimum stipulations of the directive but a lot of it is open to interpretation. Many thanks for signing bud, don't forget to share it around!

Worthwhile going to a MEP then? Rather than a MP?

Might be, I need to get back on board with it all after work this week, they've had me running round like a madman but will be off on Thursday and Friday so I can do some more concentrated work on the petition.





Best,

- Martyn
 

Faz Sataki

Newbie
Messages
4
Hi guys.
This is disability discrimination by the minister of transport against diabetic drivers. This means it is a breach of 'Human rights' against diabetic drivers.
By the way, you could also take the transport minister to the courts for discrimination against diabetic drivers under the 'Human rights legislations'.
Speak to a lawyer if they do not change the terms.
I tried to forward your petition on facebook but it won't work, so I have tweeted this on facebook as well. I think you should ask your friends to forward this petition to all there friends as well. Like I have done...
 

martynlloydkelly

Active Member
Messages
29
Hi guys.
This is disability discrimination by the minister of transport against diabetic drivers. This means it is a breach of 'Human rights' against diabetic drivers.
By the way, you could also take the transport minister to the courts for discrimination against diabetic drivers under the 'Human rights legislations'.
Speak to a lawyer if they do not change the terms.
I tried to forward your petition on facebook but it won't work, so I have tweeted this on facebook as well. I think you should ask your friends to forward this petition to all there friends as well. Like I have done...

Wishing everyone on this forum best of luck regarding this petition. ...

Hi Faz :)

Many thanks for signing and sharing, that's exactly what the petition needs: exposure. Its making good progress at the moment as its been up for just under a week now. Also, many thanks for the well wishes, means a lot, lets hope something comes of them!

I had a phone call today from Diabetes UK's "Advocacy" service which essentially backs up what I've read regarding the absence of medical evidence cited during the discussions regarding the EU directive's creation and the DVLA's interpretation thereof (thank you to those who linked me to that information). This is especially encouraging news as it means that I'm at least on the right path with this and that I have a solid argument. I've also been passed information regarding the International Diabetes Federation and the Association of British Clinical Diabetologists who opposed this EU directive and UK interpretation when they were first proposed. The Association of British Clinical Diabetologists in particular queried the evidence behind the decision but was never presented with any. I'm intending to contact both of these groups to gain further information which could help increase the effect of the petition in parliament.

Keep signing and sharing guys, thank you all so much for your support so far!

Best,

- Martyn
 

donnellysdogs

Master
Messages
13,233
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Dislikes
People that can't listen to other people's opinions.
People that can't say sorry.
Different subject.. Or at least different illness, I see epileptics also lose licences for 'episodes' at night.

I know it is a totally different illness,causes, durations and outcomes but it seems that night 'attacks' are being used to ban drivers from driving under a carte blanche system of bans.

On the home page of dvladiabetes.. Can a 'sign the petition' be added to that? When I logged in yesterday it was on a different page.. I know my folks (silver surfers) don't go through each web page, they go to the home page and would sign it if more visible there. Or perhaps on my iphone, I just couldnt see it on main page?
 

the optimist

Newbie
Messages
3
Hi

This is shocking. I have just signed and note that only 446 people have signed up although it is early days. This seems to be blatant discrimination and a crass response by DVLA. Should diabetes UK not be bringing this to the Government's and media attention? Or at least make the issue prominent on the Diabetes UK emails. Advice about not ticking the wrong box on the form seems appropriate to say the least.

Best wishes to the original poster on recovering your licence. Writing to your MP may also be helpful.
 

martynlloydkelly

Active Member
Messages
29
On the home page of dvladiabetes.. Can a 'sign the petition' be added to that? When I logged in yesterday it was on a different page.. I know my folks (silver surfers) don't go through each web page, they go to the home page and would sign it if more visible there. Or perhaps on my iphone, I just couldnt see it on main page?

Hey DD :) There should be a blue button in the large grey "hero unit" on the main page that says "sign the petition", this will take you directly to the petition site. If this isn't noticeable enough I can expand the site of the button!

This is shocking. I have just signed and note that only 446 people have signed up although it is early days. This seems to be blatant discrimination and a crass response by DVLA. Should diabetes UK not be bringing this to the Government's and media attention? Or at least make the issue prominent on the Diabetes UK emails. Advice about not ticking the wrong box on the form seems appropriate to say the least.

Best wishes to the original poster on recovering your licence. Writing to your MP may also be helpful.

Many thanks for the signature and the well wishes, I'm hoping something can be sorted soon but it looks like I'll be heading up to the magistrates' court to sort all of this out. Diabetes UK's "Advocacy" service, did oppose this EU directive and the UK's interpretation thereof fiercely when it was first announced. Unfortunately, their outcry did not appear to garner much attention however, David Cameron has been quoted as saying that the directive is completely crazy. Thank you for the suggestion regarding my MP, I'm meeting with him tomorrow to discuss the petition, my argument and how best to use the petition so that it raises the right sort of attention. The amount of signatures has increased to 468 and me and my girlfriend have been posting the link to the petition all over local news FB groups etc. However, the best way for this to get around is by people like yourself sharing it through FB and Twitter! Many thanks if you have already but if not, and you have a spare moment, it would be tremendously helpful if you would notify your friends about the form and ask them to sign and share also :)

Thank you all for your support!

- Martyn
 

martynlloydkelly

Active Member
Messages
29
Hello :)

I've reworded the form so that it now applies to ALL diabetics rather than just type 1's as it has been brought to my attention that this directive and its interpretation affects all diabetics rather than just type 1. Apologies to any type 2's who may have felt like I was discriminating against you, I really wasn't intending to! The wording on the www.diabetesdvla.co.uk site I created will also be changed to reflect this.

Please keep spreading the word, the support has been amazing thus far!

Best,

- Martyn
 

martynlloydkelly

Active Member
Messages
29
I have signed. Thanks.

Thank you, hels, every signature counts!

Nearly at 500, 13 to go at last count, can we make a push and get it over 500 by the end of tonight?! Would sound fantastic tomorrow if I had that type of news when talking on the radio!

Best,

- Martyn
 

alexmtaylor

Member
Messages
18
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Last year (October I think) my licence was also not renewed. I spoke to my doctor who investigated and found that in response to the DVLA's health form they (the doctors) had put that I had had no hypos where I needed help, and she wrote to DVLA to put them right. Since then it has taken months and months of form filling, rudeness from the DVLA call centre and waiting until I finally got my licence back two weeks ago! My car has been sitting outside, fully insured, taxed etc., developing a flat battery, during this time.
They were SO rude at the call centre!! I know it is not their individual fault (and I said so), but they seemed quite amazed that I was expecting them to speed up their tortoise-speed process as they were at fault in the first place!
I hope you get it back quicker than I did, and I've signed your petition!
 

justjay

Well-Known Member
Messages
87
Last year (October I think) my licence was also not renewed. I spoke to my doctor who investigated and found that in response to the DVLA's health form they (the doctors) had put that I had had no hypos where I needed help, and she wrote to DVLA to put them right. Since then it has taken months and months of form filling, rudeness from the DVLA call centre and waiting until I finally got my licence back two weeks ago! My car has been sitting outside, fully insured, taxed etc., developing a flat battery, during this time.
They were SO rude at the call centre!! I know it is not their individual fault (and I said so), but they seemed quite amazed that I was expecting them to speed up their tortoise-speed process as they were at fault in the first place!
I hope you get it back quicker than I did, and I've signed your petition!

Sounds familiar... Still not heard about mine after the Dr made a mistake
 

martynlloydkelly

Active Member
Messages
29
Good luck today Mart.

Thanks, Diddly. Things went well, more about that below!

Sounds familiar... Still not heard about mine after the Dr made a mistake

Last year (October I think) my licence was also not renewed. I spoke to my doctor who investigated and found that in response to the DVLA's health form they (the doctors) had put that I had had no hypos where I needed help, and she wrote to DVLA to put them right. Since then it has taken months and months of form filling, rudeness from the DVLA call centre and waiting until I finally got my licence back two weeks ago! My car has been sitting outside, fully insured, taxed etc., developing a flat battery, during this time.
They were SO rude at the call centre!! I know it is not their individual fault (and I said so), but they seemed quite amazed that I was expecting them to speed up their tortoise-speed process as they were at fault in the first place!
I hope you get it back quicker than I did, and I've signed your petition!

Unfortunately I've heard this all too often. Some have questioned whether it is better to have drivers taken off the road first THEN have the argument afterwards however, my argument is that it takes the argument far too long to resolve. Within this space of time: money is wasted, livelihoods potentially lost, life is made more difficult than it has to be etc. As far as I am concerned, if the DVLA are so concerned for the safety of drivers as they say they are then the argument should not even have to occur in the first place. When the application form is sent in, the relevant person's consultant/GP should be contacted by the DVLA to establish if the person is medically fit to drive. This doesn't take very much time with regards to either of the parties involved however, it does cost the DVLA money and unfortunately, I think this is why we face the problem.

Having drivers argue their case does not cost the DVLA anything, really. They do not have to phone around doctors surgeries or hospitals, they do not have to employ somebody to consult GP's/consultants etc. As I say though, the whole process makes life quite difficult for the driver. I'm glad to hear that you got your licence back, Alex, but your situation serves to illustrate the difficulties inflicted on others by this, to be quite frank, poorly constructed and implemented process. Thanks you very much for your support though and if you have a little time free (around 5 seconds, if that!) it would be much appreciated if you could share the petition with friends via. e-mail, Facebook, Twitter etc. The more awareness and exposure generated, the better for all of us!

With regards to petition progress, things have been going very well! I met with my local MP, Stephen Twigg, yesterday, to discuss a plan of action for how we can have this bill discussed by politicians who have the power to call for a reconsideration of the EU directive and the DVLA's interpretation of it. He fully backs my argument and has shared the petition on Twitter to give validity to his support. I do not have exact details of what is going to be done as the meeting was relatively quick and a lot was said however, Stephen's secretary, Kevin, has promised that he will send me the minutes of the meeting. I'll let you all know about what's in those minutes when I receive them on Monday. Needless to say, various MP's will be being contacted and we are attempting to push for a debate in parliament itself.

Also, George Howarth MP has written to me via. e-mail and also given me his full support. He has also offered his services in backing Stephen's actions but as parliamentary procedure dictates, he can not directly represent me as I am not one of his constituents. He is, however, a member of the all party parliamentary group for diabetes and will be bringing the matter and my petition to their attention. Furthermore, he will be circulating details of the petition to those he knows in the diabetes community. This is a tremendous help and also adds further support to my argument, as you can no doubt tell, i am ecstatic with regards to these developments and I am more confident than ever that we can change the situation to benefit all diabetic drivers across the country and potentially Europe.

I also posted a video update last night detailing other recent developments so if you have a chance to, please have a look at it, the petition site is here: http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/d ... -diabetics

Thank you all again for your support, signatures, sharing and hard work. We're starting to make some important headway with regards to this now so lets keep up the fight!

Best,

- Martyn
 

smileo1

Newbie
Messages
1
Type of diabetes
Type 1
I too have been through this and also had my licence revoked. I immediately gathered data on results for 1 month and reapplied ensuring I ticked boxes correctly. It is not as clear as you read the form, but after taking advice from diabetic nurse I realised I answered incorrectly, which is what you have done. It then took 2mths after reapplying to get licence back but I have and these are new guides so please be careful as the DVLA don't care if you make genuine error.
 

gaiaxaia

Member
Messages
10
Good luck
I had my license taken away for a year due to diabetes and I found it hard with my medical background to understand the questions and even rang for help.
In contrast when I had another medical incident I was just advised not to drive for a month by my GP but did not need to inform DVLA of the issue. It does really need review and needs people who are more approachable at the call centres.
I signed the petition BUT
Is there just a link to share on FB pages rather than individual invites ? As I am not sure whom to invite as so many are from different countries.