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Sleep Apnoea And The Dvla
I have been asked to add this discussion as it is a bit of a grey area and most sleep clinics are very lax in the information that they hand out to there patients regarding the rules and regulations relating to driving with sleep apnoea.
The first thing you will receive is dvla form INF94 which informs you that because of a medical condition you are required by law to inform DVLA of that medical condition as soon as you are diagnosed.
My advice is to wait until you have actually started your therapy because the dvla will ask you if you are being compliant and you will not be able to give a positive answer which will go against you.
Your first point of contact would be a telephone call to DVLA medical branch to inform them of a new medical condition,(making sure u make a note of the persons name), they will ask you for your driver details take some information from you and send you out a medical questionnaire.
When the questionnaire arrives fill it out with as much information as you can and send it back to dvla registered signed for.
The thing to remember is that DVLA take two weeks to process any posted information as standard (thats if they don't have a backlog). The other thing to be aware of it that there are only three doctors working on all the cases and normally there is around a six week backlog as standard.
The medical branch will write to your consultant and ask for conformation of your diagnosis and treatment and if they can prove that you are being compliant then there is no reason for a restriction or removal of your licence.
If you do not receive any conformation from DVLA within 30days then it is advisable to call them to ask what is happening with your case.
For professional drivers like myself the rules are the same but there have been some cases where on informing DVLA the licence is automatically restricted. This is not normal practice as the law states that although the driver is at liberty to inform the medical branch of a change in there condition the licence cannot be restricted unless the medical branch says so.
The reason in writng this is I fell into several traps, not taking the initial persons name, not sending the paperwork signed for and having my licence instantly restricted on the first phone call.
Bearing in mind I drive for a living this has caused a considerable hardship and after fighting the system for almost nine months I have finally had the restrictions lifted and my driving status reinstated.
The bottom line is that you do have to inform the medical branch that you have Sleep Apnoea and as long as you can prove that you are being treated and the treatment is helping then there is no reason for you not to be able to keep your licence.
Good Luck
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Kath Hope on
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Wow, thanks for this Andy, and so sorry to hear of your bad experience - especially with it affecting your job and finances. This must have been so hard for you to deal with, and pleased to hear you've got your licence back. Hope also that you have a job to return to after all this time.
I personally did exactly what you recommend - I hung onto my licence without telling the DVLA, but I never drove at all until my treatment was proved successful. Even then, I waited for the confirmation from the DVLA giving me permission to drive. At least I didn't have to go through all the red tape to get my licence back though.
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Permalink Reply by John Hedley on
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Hi Andy and Kath
I followed the advice in the Sleep Apnoea Trust leaflet. It has been approved by DVLA.
The leaflet can be found at:
http://www.sleep-apnoea-trust.org/media/SATA%20Driving%20%20OSA.pdf
Basically, for ordinary (non-professional) drivers there is a way of delaying the time when you tell DVLA, providing you cease driving immediately on diagnosis. This is mandatory.
The leaflet is very detailed and helpful. I followed that advice, which avoided my licence ever being suspended throughout the transition period between diagnosis and effective CPAP treatment
I simply told DVLA by letter and everything was sorted out without difficulty - they simply contacted the hospital for confirmation that I was having effective CPAP therapy, and were then happy.
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Seems I didn't break any rules after all then lol!
'Basically, for ordinary (non-professional) drivers there is a way of delaying the time when you tell DVLA, providing you cease driving immediately on diagnosis. This is mandatory."
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Permalink Reply by Andy Thomas on
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I think the best advice i can give anyone who thinks that they may be suffering from the condition is to get checked and if the gp or consultant confirms the diagnosis and you have periods of sleepyness then not to drive. The penalties for doing this are so severe that i tthink most people would choose to take this route anyway.
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Yes, you're right there Andy. My own Grandmother was killed in a road accident through a driver who felt unwell, but still insisted on driving. He went on to have a blackout at the wheel! Ever since that day, everytime I felt too tired or unwell (before I knew I had sleep apnoea) I chose never to take the car out. Here's an article I came across recently:-
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Permalink Reply by Jackie on
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Thank you for this information.
When I saw the doctor who confirmed my osa I was told not to drive, no other info.
I tried to look up info, but it was sadly lacking and remembered when hubby had a heart attack years ago, we had to inform DVLA so I emailed them with my info and was told to send in my licence and they thanked me for volunteering it and to inform them if things change.
I didn't fill any forms in and was never told anything different.
I do have other disabilities and a sight problem, so even when I hopefully settle down with CPAP, I perhaps still couldn't drive or even want to, but the information given/available is severly lacking for people who need or wish to drive.
Have to content myself with driving hubby up the wall nowadays :)
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