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Experience with DVLA
hi all
can anyone share their experiences with DVLA and licenses
i was diagnosed in late december with sleep apnea and has advised reported in to the DVLA, who revoked my license as treatment had not started, driving is part of my job
i could not get a appointment at any clinic until mid march so decided because of work to go private at ResMed clinic in London, i spoke to the DVLA as to whether a private clinic could supply them with the necessary information that they needed, as they were asking a specialist that i would not see for nearly 10 weeks. i was informed that this would be ok, so i went ahead and bought machine and waited the 30 days that they needed to take information off the machine. i went back to ResMed who filled out the questionnaire that the DVLA had sent them along with a full report in to my treatment. the report only asked 2 questions of information that i had not already given them
question 1 -- am i compliant with treatment
question 2 --- do i suffer from day time tiredness anymore
both of the above i had already answered and now the clinic had confirmed it, but to my shock it was not a doctor that had signed but an RSN so the DVLA refused to accept it and wanted the information from the doctor that i had not seen, so i am stuck at the moment trying to hold on to a job.
i managed to get the doctor to fill in the form from the information supplied by ResMed, but he forgot to sign the form so it has now gone back to him and i carry on waiting
there does not seem to be any consistency in how you are treated by them, i have spoken to people that were diagnosed with severe apnea similar to mine that never had their license revoked.
the other problem is that every time you call no one can give you any answers or information that is the same as the last time you called them, they cannot even confirm what information they have received from either the clinic or the doctor, only that they have some information but are awaiting more.
is this really par for DVLA and treatment or have i just been unlucky?
any other stories or just ideas of how long you waited to get license back would start to help put my mind at rest as i really am starting to let it effect me
Views: 918
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Iwan Davies on
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When I saw the registrar at my local hospital after getting a diagnosis following a home sleep study, he advised me I should tell the DVLA, and being a good boy I did that immediately. Despite only just being into the severe range, and with an Epworth score that indicated barely problems at all (I found that the Epworth questionnaire didn't really match my life patterns, as I had been able to work around my daytime drowsiness - hence questions about falling asleep during what most people would consider to be normal daytime activities met with a negative response from both me and my partner), four weeks later I received a letter telling me not to drive and to return my licence in the enclosed envelope... Eight days (last Friday) after the letter arrived, I received my CPAP machine and for the past five nights have had very good results. If I had only waited a few weeks (and been sensible - I don't need to drive for work and can travel by train/bus to the local airport if I need to fly anywhere, which I do once a month or so) then I would probably now be in the process of telling DVLA about a condition that is under control, rather than one that isn't, and I would have been able to retain my licence.
You live and learn, I suppose, and I wouldn't advise anyone not to tell DVLA about a known medical condition, but timing is crucial if we are not to suffer any more inconvenience than is necessary... I'm now hoping that I'll be able to get my licence back fairly quickly, but am resigned to it being at least another month, and potentially longer than that.
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hi all
thought i would post an up date to my original post
i have now got my license back with a letter from the DVLA stating that they are happy with everything and i have got my license back, what they failed to tell me was that my license in only valid for 1 year, i had not noticed this and only found out when it was pointed out to me on hiring a car, when the guy commented that he had never seen a license with only 1 year on it. i called the DVLA to check on this and was then told that i need to reapply every year for license and they would send me a form to fill out nearer the time -- i dont think i will rely on them to do this, with all the catalogue of errors so far experienced so i will probably call them closer to the time
the whole experience has been very off putting and this is due in main to the fact that no one person is treated the same, there do not seem to any standards set in how the medical board make their decisions on cases. i have spoken to people that were diagnosed with a more severe case than me and without any treatment started, they notified the DVLA and were told to keep them up to date, but they could carry on driving
in my case i thought i did everything as asked only to find out that it made no difference it still took me over 3 months to get my license back, this after going private and spending cash on CPAP machine myself to speed up receiving treatment with ResMed only to find that despite being told by DVLA that they would accept compliance reports etc from private clinic, this was not the case and they would not accept the information as it was not given by a doctor
as to the phone system at DVLA this is beyond a joke you speak to someone different each time and none of them seem to tag notes to your case number, each person gives different advice, there has to be a way to improve this
i only started to get somewhere after my local MP got involved and wrote to the DVLA on my behalf, then all of the sudden they had all the information needed and my license was soon returned
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Permalink Reply by Kath Hope on
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I wonder if that's the new rules for when you drive as part as your job. Are you a HGV driver Simon? For people like myself who don't drive for a living we certainly don't have a 1 year restriction, which is not really fair as we would be just as capable of causing an accident if we weren't compliant with our therapy and started to get daytime tiredness back. I hope Andy comes back to let us know how he got on after sending his latest letter to the DVLA.
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I knew about the problems that can happen with the DVLA Iwan, so I immediately stopped driving, but didn't tell the DVLA until I was CPAP compliant (although in my case it was a long time, as I got my diagnosis in the February and couldn't get the CPAP until the July. Then I had lots of probems at first so I was off the road about 8 months). I actually didn't want to drive once I found out I was a risk, as my own grandmother had been killed by a driver who should never have got behind the wheel (not through sleep apnoea... because he'd felt unwell but still chose to drive and ended up having a blackout at the wheel). Are you due to go back to the hospital soon to see how you're doing, as you should soon be able to inform the DVLA of your CPAP compliancy?
Iwan Davies said:When I saw the registrar at my local hospital after getting a diagnosis following a home sleep study, he advised me I should tell the DVLA, and being a good boy I did that immediately. Despite only just being into the severe range, and with an Epworth score that indicated barely problems at all (I found that the Epworth questionnaire didn't really match my life patterns, as I had been able to work around my daytime drowsiness - hence questions about falling asleep during what most people would consider to be normal daytime activities met with a negative response from both me and my partner), four weeks later I received a letter telling me not to drive and to return my licence in the enclosed envelope... Eight days (last Friday) after the letter arrived, I received my CPAP machine and for the past five nights have had very good results. If I had only waited a few weeks (and been sensible - I don't need to drive for work and can travel by train/bus to the local airport if I need to fly anywhere, which I do once a month or so) then I would probably now be in the process of telling DVLA about a condition that is under control, rather than one that isn't, and I would have been able to retain my licence.
You live and learn, I suppose, and I wouldn't advise anyone not to tell DVLA about a known medical condition, but timing is crucial if we are not to suffer any more inconvenience than is necessary... I'm now hoping that I'll be able to get my licence back fairly quickly, but am resigned to it being at least another month, and potentially longer than that.
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hi Kath
no not HGV driver but i have to visit multiple locations over week across the south of England for my job, driving was one of the conditions of employment, the problem with the DVLA letter it just asks a yes or no question -- do you drive for a living -- i had to answer yes as i do as part of job
as to the 1 year rule i do not know if its new, as i said i had not even noticed it until it was pointed out to me, think its odd that in the letter from the DVLA that they do not point this out and the fact that you have to reapply each year
Kath Hope said:I wonder if that's the new rules for when you drive as part as your job. Are you a HGV driver Simon? For people like myself who don't drive for a living we certainly don't have a 1 year restriction, which is not really fair as we would be just as capable of causing an accident if we weren't compliant with our therapy and started to get daytime tiredness back. I hope Andy comes back to let us know how he got on after sending his latest letter to the DVLA.
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All i would suggest is get a driver, friend or family member. It is what i did while getting sorted out. Keeps the convenience and gpmay give someone an opportunity to travel and explore while you are working.
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I wonder if it might be worth ringing the DVLA or even writing to them so it's on record Simon, and explain what the nature of your driving is plus querying why it's only for a year at a time.
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letter sent thought better that way than a telephone call, will update when i get an answer
Kath Hope said:I wonder if it might be worth ringing the DVLA or even writing to them so it's on record Simon, and explain what the nature of your driving is plus querying why it's only for a year at a time.
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Kath
good idea of yours to write as on phone i was told that i needed t renew each year if thats what the license says
now had written letter back stating that the year is just when the picture part becomes invalid and needs updating and confirming i have a full license until 2040
so thanks for the advice
Kath Hope said:I wonder if it might be worth ringing the DVLA or even writing to them so it's on record Simon, and explain what the nature of your driving is plus querying why it's only for a year at a time.
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