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Return of driving licence after cough syncope

4 replies

lonelynfrustrated · 30/06/2024 11:20

Hi everyone,

Has anyone had their driving licence revoked but then returned after cough syncope? If so, what did the 'returning' process look like please?

I know what the DVLA process is in terms of 'fill out this form and wait a (very) long time', but specifically for cough syncope, what were they looking for?

Spouse has asthma, had a bad chest infection early this year, had several episodes of cough syncope and DVLA revoked his licence for 'at least' 12 months. His asthma was wildly out of control at the time and he was stuck on an 18-month waitlist for a meds review, after these incidents he was seen within a week, his meds changed and he is much, much better now and hasn't had a cough syncope since the new meds.

He is desperately counting the days to getting his licence back, but when talking looking online for info on this process, for most medical conditions there is guidance along the lines of 'must have had no instances of (medical condition) for 12 months' but for cough syncope it just says 'Treatment, management or resolution of the condition which caused the cough does not reduce the risk of syncope with further episodes of cough' and so I'm wondering, for cough syncope, under what circumstances would the licence actually ever be returned?

He is desperate to get his licence back but can't even apply until next summer. What should we be doing/looking out for, in terms of his health, to meet the requirements to get his licence back? Clearly he is following all medical advise and taking his meds, but should we be noting things like 'he had a cold with a cough but still had no syncopes' etc?

Another reason I am trying to understand is because I am aware the DVLA application process can take several months .... I have his car sitting on the driveway doing nothing (but costing me monthly in tax, insurance, maintenance etc) and wondering whether - if there's a chance he is not going to get his licence back at all - we'd be better off selling the car.

Thanks for any help :-)

OP posts:
magnoliablooms · 30/06/2024 14:33

It's probably worth ringing them for a chat?

baffledbyworksheets · 30/06/2024 14:43

DVLA website says 'must not drive for 12 months' after multiple episodes of cough syncope. It doesn't say anything about a lifetime ban. I think if you could never drive again with this condition it would state that. So ultimately it sounds positive, but hard to know about timescales for all the admin.

www.gov.uk/guidance/neurological-disorders-assessing-fitness-to-drive#:~:text=If%20more%20than%20one%20episode,drive%20and%20must%20notify%20DVLA.

lonelynfrustrated · 30/06/2024 17:40

magnoliablooms · 30/06/2024 14:33

It's probably worth ringing them for a chat?

Absolutely - I did suggest this but spouse is unwilling, he's afraid they will somehow 'mark his card' as needing additional scrutiny??

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lonelynfrustrated · 30/06/2024 17:41

baffledbyworksheets · 30/06/2024 14:43

DVLA website says 'must not drive for 12 months' after multiple episodes of cough syncope. It doesn't say anything about a lifetime ban. I think if you could never drive again with this condition it would state that. So ultimately it sounds positive, but hard to know about timescales for all the admin.

www.gov.uk/guidance/neurological-disorders-assessing-fitness-to-drive#:~:text=If%20more%20than%20one%20episode,drive%20and%20must%20notify%20DVLA.

It's probably helpful for me to point this out to him, yes. Thank you 😀

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