Voluntary Surrender of driving licence

[texasjohn]

goldblum said:

s p a c e m a n said:

texasjohn said:

The letter she will have received is as a result of whatever form she filled in and sent off to DVLA.

Anyone know what would happen if she had refused to complete and sign that form, would the doctor have informed the DVLA?

No. Or at least that's what I've been told by two doctors and a neurologist.

I agree. They would contact DVLA if they were certain that a patient would completely ignore their advice and drive regardless.

They have to put the safety of the person (and the general public) above patient confidentiality.

[Sheepshanks]

goldblum said:

Mandatory? Such as? And how often would these mandatory conditions apply when a person had only been 'advised' to inform the DVLA by their doctor? Not often I bet.

OP says "told".

You're on really dodgy ground if you continue to drive. Doctors advice (however it's worded) will likely be in your notes. As soon as they say it your licence is effectively suspended and so your insurance is void if you drive.

Colleague of mine had slight vision disturbance and Consultant told him to not drive and that she would be advising DVLA, so it must be fairly routine. He'd driven to hospital and had to get his wife to come and pick the car up.

[talksthetorque]

The insurance company should be able to transfer the policy and NCB in to your partner's name. Most insurers allow this between insured and spouse.
Once you have done this it may help to keep the costs down to add a different low risk driver to the policy as a named driver, you know, just in case they might need to drive;).

[texasjohn]

Sounds like a pretty eager move on the part of the consultant but they have the option to inform DVLA (whether it is mandatory in that particular case I wouldn't know).

I guess it comes down to the individual doctor and their view of limiting any potential liability to themselves as a result of the patient continuing to drive.

[mph1977]

goldblum said:

mph1977 said:

the DVLA has a medical department staffed with actual health professionals who undertake these investigations and gather evidence from medical records, investigations performed at their request by your GP/ consultant / Optometrist and undertakea risk assessment.

they also publish guidance ot Health professionals about what advice to give to patients and the few situations wheremandatory reporting is required.

Mandatory? Such as? And how often would these mandatory conditions apply when a person had only been 'advised' to inform the DVLA by their doctor? Not often I bet.

put down the tinfoil

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/current-...

gives the *GUIDANCE FOR PROFESSIONALS*, which accordingly is written for a professional audience, not the general public or swivel-eyed tinfoil hatter.

Mandatory reporting

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/debates...

http://www.patient.co.uk/doctor/introduction-dvla-...

[goldblum]

mph1977 said:

put down the tinfoil

Does that means something derogatory?

Just because someone disagrees with you doesn't mean they er...do something with tinfoil? What are you talking about?

I've looked at your links, they're very nice. Well done. Means little as the severity of symptoms and their impact on ability to drive is still open to a doctors interpretation... .

[mph1977]

goldblum said:

Does that means something derogatory?

Just because someone disagrees with you doesn't mean they er...do something with tinfoil? What are you talking about?

I've looked at your links, they're very nice. Well done. Means little as the severity of symptoms and their impact on ability to drive is still open to a doctors interpretation... .

Tinfoil , hats for the making of and lining of walls /windows to keep the 'rays 'out i.e. those who believe there is some kind of conspiracy against them.

If a Health Professional is not best placed to make best interest decisions where there are questions of capacity who is...

I hope you have some understanding of the MCA , best interests decision support and DoLS before answering for fear you embarass yourself further...

[goldblum]

mph1977 said:

Tinfoil , hats for the making of and lining of walls /windows to keep the 'rays 'out i.e. those who believe there is some kind of conspiracy against them.

If a Health Professional is not best placed to make best interest decisions where there are questions of capacity who is...

I hope you have some understanding of the MCA , best interests decision support and DoLS before answering for fear you embarass yourself further...

Oh honestly stop blathering on. Reread my post at the top of this page for an explanation of my position.

[Riley Blue]

goldblum said:

Advised by the doctor or not - The doctor will not inform the DVLA himself and his comments are only advisory. Think very carefully before getting in touch with them or not. No reason why you can't police yourself and simply not drive until you're given the OK.

This one?

Except:

"You must tell DVLA if you have a driving licence and:
you develop a ‘notifiable’ medical condition or disability
a condition or disability has got worse since you got your licence
Notifiable conditions are anything that could affect your ability to drive safely. They can include:
epilepsy
strokes
other neurological and mental health conditions
physical disabilities
visual impairments"

[goldblum]

Riley Blue said:

This one?

Hmmm, no. That looks different from the one at the top of the page. Does it look the same to you?

But do go on... .

Riley Blue said:

Except:

"You must tell DVLA if you have a driving licence and:
you develop a ‘notifiable’ medical condition or disability
a condition or disability has got worse since you got your licence
Notifiable conditions are anything that could affect your ability to drive safely. They can include:
epilepsy
strokes
other neurological and mental health conditions
physical disabilities
visual impairments"

Except, as I have (once again) already stated, there is huge degree of personal interpretation involved in self diagnosis re severity of symptoms. I'm sure most people think they are very good drivers, even with a number of the 'ailments' mentioned on your list.

[Starfighter]

Lady Marmalade said:

....snip....
Due to a mental health problem which reared itself in September this year, I was hospitalised for 11days
...snip...

Riley Blue said:

Except:

"You must tell DVLA if you have a driving licence and:
you develop a ‘notifiable’ medical condition or disability
a condition or disability has got worse since you got your licence
Notifiable conditions are anything that could affect your ability to drive safely. They can include:
epilepsy
strokes
other neurological and mental health conditions
physical disabilities
visual impairments"

Sounds like an easy interpretation to me based on the opening post from Lady Marmalade.

LM - Call the insurers and talk to them. They should just swap the main driver over on the policy and the NCB. Don't let this worry you at all, assuming no long term effects they you will get the licence back once your doctor agrees you are ready to drive. Concentrate on getting well.

[moorx]

Starfighter said:

LM - Call the insurers and talk to them. They should just swap the main driver over on the policy and the NCB. Don't let this worry you at all, assuming no long term effects they you will get the licence back once your doctor agrees you are ready to drive. Concentrate on getting well.

^^ This.

I had to surrender my licence for a year due to recurrence of a health problem I had not suffered for over 20 years. I contacted my insurance brokers and they arranged for my policy to be switched to my OH (who was already a named driver). No issues at all.

Yes, the loss of my licence was very inconvenient. I live 125 miles away from where I work, and although I stay somewhere more local during the week, that is still nearly 20 miles from my place of work. So for a year, I relied on trains and lifts from family and friends. Not something I would want to do again

However, I certainly wouldn't have considered 'self-policing' my fitness to drive. Perhaps I am too 'risk-averse' but I really couldn't have lived with myself if I had caused an accident.

[Lady Marmalade]

Thank you all - it's good to hear about other people's experiences and advice

[Lady Marmalade]

Mission accomplished - policy changed into partner's name and all it cost was £24 - no questions asked about medical condition - just explained that DVLA had suggested I surrender my licence for medical reasons and that I was sending it off today. Had to explain the difference between surrendering licence (temporarily ~ 3 months) and having it revoked by DVLA so thank you to people on here for educating me so I could deal with this.

[NoNeed]

goldblum said:

Riley Blue said:

This one?

Hmmm, no. That looks different from the one at the top of the page. Does it look the same to you?

But do go on... .

Riley Blue said:

Except:

"You must tell DVLA if you have a driving licence and:
you develop a ‘notifiable’ medical condition or disability
a condition or disability has got worse since you got your licence
Notifiable conditions are anything that could affect your ability to drive safely. They can include:
epilepsy
strokes
other neurological and mental health conditions
physical disabilities
visual impairments"

Except, as I have (once again) already stated, there is huge degree of personal interpretation involved in self diagnosis re severity of symptoms. I'm sure most people think they are very good drivers, even with a number of the 'ailments' mentioned on your list.

Just to be clear, it isn't a choice, you must surrender your licence if a doctor tells you not to drive.

I have been through this being a type 1 diabetic on insulin. Once you have completed their questionnaire and answered their enquiries. it is they who decide whether or not you can drive.

I have restrictions on my licence, as do many others and to not inform the DVLA of a condition could lead you open to serious charges should you hurt or kill somebody.

https://www.gov.uk/health-conditions-and-driving

[Psycho Warren]

As texasjohn says, you are better off surrendering now.

I made the same mistake as him and fought the system.

Also make sure any paperwork is sent recorded delivery.