Driving Licence Suspended

Inthesky · May 2, 2013

Thanks for your reply and your guidance - Good news received today in the form of a call from the DVLA confirming my licence will be re-issued from midnight tonight. I don't mind admitting to a little whimper of joy ! Contact from my GP to the medical team clearly stating my ability to recognise a hypo has made all the difference, even if it does take the dvla up to 3 days to receive a fax and scan a copy onto a drivers record. The whole experience was made worse by the horror stories posted on many forums. Perhaps mine is a rare case however despite my angst against the dvla process and frightful letters received, they have come through in 5 days. I will certainly take on board the guidance given is this forum regarding my next application in 3 years. Thanks to all that have posted.

Diddly · May 2, 2013

Inthesky,
Congratulations, good to hear.

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

Assimilator1 · May 2, 2013

rontom89 said:
I'm all for honesty. But for the hassle it causes when you tell the DVLA about hypos that have absolutely nothing to do with driving, they don't need to know. It doesn't concern them.

If you had a sudden hypo attack at the wheel then obviously let them know, but the chances of that happening if you remember the simple rule "FIVE TO DRIVE" and take regular breaks on long distances then you won't have a problem.

5 to drive??

Diddly · May 2, 2013

Your bg needs to be 5 or above to drive. Hence " FIVE TO DRIVE "

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

Assimilator1 · May 2, 2013

Oh yea, of course.

Giverny · May 7, 2013

I've gone ahead and signed the petition (found here for anyone who missed it: https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/ ... -diabetics)

martynlloydkelly · May 8, 2013

Hello everybody!

Apologies for my recent radio silence/abscene, I've been tremendously busy and this is really the first free moment I've had to drop you all a line and keep you informed as to what is going on: with regards to the petition itself, there's not an awful lot happening. We're nearly at 1000 signatures though so any sharing that you guys might be able to do would be great!

With regards to my own situation I've recently seen my consultant at the diabetes clinic I attend and have asked if he would supply a letter of support along with my licence reapplication form. I was overjoyed to hear that he would indeed oblige me with this and we have set to gathering all required information to allow this letter to be written up, I'm currently waiting for it to drop through my postbox. Not sure if this will work but having heard of "Inthesky"s success I'm somewhat hopeful that the situation may be rectified. At the moment my girlfriend has started her driving lessons and we're hoping to have one of us on the road (at least) before the end of summer.

OK, replies...

I have just signed your petition. Thank you for setting this up. My husband is type 1 and is a HGV driver. He had his HGV licence taken off him 4 years ago but thankfully got it back last year due to the UK having to align with European law. However we live on a knife edge due to the current DVLA requirements as there is no leeway to explain episodes of hypoglycaemia. Diabetics are losing their livelihoods due to these ridiculous requirements which in turn is leading to more unemployment, reliance on benefits and contributing to the recession. the Government needs to stand up and take a closer look at this. Thanks again for raising this awareness.

No problem at all Suz1. Its this situation that really makes me despair, why should you and your husaband have to live your life in fear of him potentially losing his job due to ill-thought out legislation that is driven by misunderstanding and paranoia. Dealing with diabetes is work enough without all the stress of this thrown on top. I'm really happy to hear that his licence has been reinstated though and I hope that you're both doing well.

Re: Driving Licence Suspended

Postby ptrmet » April 28th, 2013, 7:08 pm
I'm not sure whether this has gone through - here it is again....

I have just signed the petition. I am appalled that the DVLA have the ability to interpret the rules as they see fit. Not only is this a reflection on their attitude but also on badly worded rules. I wrotre to Martin Cullen (editor) of Diabetes UK in September 2011 to voice my concerns about the possibility of the DVLA going 'rogue' and I was assured that my concerns were shared. Diabetes UK had se up meetrings with the Department of Transport to take up a number of issues which diabetics had identified. A petition was also started by6 a member of Diabetes UK on the government website - http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/14125. It is evident that not much progress has been made! I also wrote to my MP who indicated that the matter would be taken up.

All diabetics must keep up the pressure to get fair, clear and concise rules which are not based on EU directives and which do not depend upon the whim of some unknown beaurocrat in Swansea

It is all the more relevant since I have just sent off the papers for the renewal of my licence. I have been driving for over 50 years of which 22 I have been a type 2 diabetic. I have never had a hypo necessitating third party assistance and as far as I am aware iIU have never had a hypo during the night. Nevertheless your experience fills me full of terror that my application will be rejected even though I am sure there are no rational grounds for this decision.

Good luck in your appeals.

Hi ptrmet, thank you so much for signing and for your well wishes, both are greatly appreciated! Unfortunately, this issue appears to be one that is pertinent to many but recognised by few (with any power to change it). I've spoken to my own MP 2 weeks ago and others who have said that they will endeavour to raise this issue in particular groups they belong to and hopefully initiate a discussion in parliament regarding it. If that happens I would be more than happy to head down and argue my case but we need enough of an outcry for the people in charge of this to sit up and take notice.

i feel so annoyed reading your situation. I have held my licence for many many years and would feel exactly the same as you! good luck in your quest and you also have my support i can only advise along the same lines as everyone else...good luck

Thank you for the well wishes and support hello2uleeds, very much appreciated.

I live in the states, Illinois. Here is the rule in the states:

Has the state adopted specific policies about whether people with diabetes are allowed to drive?
No. Illinois generally relies on physician recommendations in making licensing decisions. The state has no specific guidelines relating to diabetes other than its guidelines relating to episodes of loss of consciousness.

I'd live in the sprawling suburbs and can't imagine doing without a car. I also wake up to a low blood sugar count occasionally, but its easily solved by BREAKFAST.

Good luck to your efforts and keep the pressure up. Don't you just hate mindless bureaucrats?

Hi djelliott, many thanks for the support and for bringing this to my attention. The rule you mention seems extremely sensible and a much better way of preventing what the DVLA want to prevent (accidents caused by severe hypos resulting from hypo unawareness) but in a way that doesn't unnecesarily disrupt people's lives. Why the EU and the UK can't think like this is beyond me.

OK, lemontree, first of all, many thanks for taking the time to argue your case but what you've said is indicative of the paranoia that must be running rife through the EU and the DVLA. I would argue point by point but I'd be repeating old ground yet again and I don't really have the time to be doing this. Tigger already did a very good job of rebuking your arguments anyway so as far as I'm concerned the issue has been resolved. If you would like to debate with me about this further then I'd be more than happy too but if people aren't going to take the time to read the arguments I've put forward then I don't see the point. Its a waste of both my, and your, time.

I've gone ahead and signed the petition (found here for anyone who missed it: https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/ ... -diabetics)

Thank you, Giverny! Hopefully people will still keep signing and spreading the word, you've all been fantastic so far and I appreciate all of you for your input and for your support! I'll try to write again soon but I have my Ph.D. viva soon and I need to get the thesis written up ASAP so I'm a little pressed for time at the moment.

Best,

- Martyn

Osidge · May 9, 2013

Hi all

Just a quick question from my ignorance. I have just looked at the guidance notes for filling out the DVLA form about diabetes. The notes say that, having admitted to hypos (to avoid being suspected of not being hypo aware), they then require to know how many severe hypos you have had These are ones that you could not deal with yourself. Do hypos during sleep require assistance? What some people are saying seems to indicate that your body deals with them. If that is so then such hypos would not be severe, i.e. needing assistance, and would not be recordable on the form.

By the way, I lost my license almost immediately on informing DVLA of my diagnosis of sleep apnoea - and fortunately gained a London Disabled Person's Freedom Pass as a result.

Regards

Doug

ChrisMaleType1 · Jul 18, 2013

Let's all agree on something - it's not a perfect world.

It's GOOD that the dvla does restrict licenses to diabetics who have severe hypos.
Instead of petitioning about what you don't want (which is better than nothing), why not petition in a positive way? From my reading, can I assume the OP wants the directive to say 'if you had two or more severe episodes in the DAYTIME'? Is this correct? If so, that would be a far more positive way of framing the issue.

elisagrace · Jun 8, 2016

Great article. One of my elder daughter was also suffering from this disease and she was on medicines for 5 years.Thereafter doctor reduces her dose and she was in his observation for one yea. With in one year she was alright. At the time of her disease she had to surrender her license. After recovery when doctors granted her fitness certificate for driving, she applied for getting her license back here https://www.gov.uk/reapply-licence-revoked.

In such cases DVLA will send you an application form 90 days before your disqualification ends. During that time you must have a medical examination with one of DVLA’s appointed doctors to prove you’re fit to drive. The examination will include:

-a questionnaire about your medical history and use of alcohol
-a physical examination
-blood tests
You’ll have to pay for your medical examination.

If you are not satisfied with the reply you can visit DVLA customer service here http://www.alwaysreview.net/reviews/dvla-contact-number/

Osidge · Jun 9, 2016

elisagrace said:
Great article. One of my elder daughter was also suffering from this disease and she was on medicines for 5 years.Thereafter doctor reduces her dose and she was in his observation for one yea. With in one year she was alright. At the time of her disease she had to surrender her license. After recovery when doctors granted her fitness certificate for driving, she applied for getting her license back here https://www.gov.uk/reapply-licence-revoked.

In such cases DVLA will send you an application form 90 days before your disqualification ends. During that time you must have a medical examination with one of DVLA’s appointed doctors to prove you’re fit to drive. The examination will include:

-a questionnaire about your medical history and use of alcohol
-a physical examination
-blood tests
You’ll have to pay for your medical examination.

If you are not satisfied with the reply you can visit DVLA customer service here http://www.alwaysreview.net/reviews/dvla-contact-number/

The information you are referring to is if you have been disqualified from driving as a result of a road traffic offence and not if you have had your license revoked for medical reasons. My license was revoked and to get it back I just filled in an application form along with information on my medical conditions. I am awaiting a decision.

Regards

Doug

Driving Licence Suspended

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