Help - driving licence revoked with immediate effect

[LadyRussell]

Posting for traffic - help!

DH was diagnosed with sleep apnea a few months ago and informed the DVLA as instructed.

He now has an oxygen mask he wears at night which has improved his sleep dramatically.

He is currently driving his kids home from a trip to the other side of the country and I have received a letter from the DVLA saying his licence has been revoked as of immidiate effect from yesterday - WTAF?

He has NEVER fallen asleep while driving and he lives 150 miles away from us in the week so driving is essential.

He has to prove certain things to get his licence back but this is going to take time.

How the hell can they do this - no warning nothing.

Does anyone know if we can appeal?

www.gov.uk/view-driving-licence

Excellent idea PP - we use this driving license checker at work!

" "did you know you were meant to tell the DVLA if you have sleep apnea". "

Not if it is "mild" & without "excessive sleepiness"

I was hoping this may have happened to someone else and they might be able to tell me what immediate steps they took in order to retain their licence.

I have sleep apnea, yes initially I was told not to drive and informed Dvla, but as I was under the consultant at the sleep clinic I was told as soon as the consultant was happy with the readings from the cpap I could drive again.

I think the issue is your husband isn't under the care of a sleep clinic who monitor how effective the cpap is. Your gp could write a letter but he has no idea whether your husband is using the cpap correctly or regularly.

My advice now would be to get your gp to refer to sleep clinic and take it from there.

he also won't be insured, so if anything happens you won't be covered

This is always trotted out on threads like this - its complete nonsense.

Assuming you have a policy in force, insurance isn't just 'invalidated' like this.

If you were doing something really stupid, like driving while drunk, or after you were aware that your license had been revoked, then the insurer might not pay out on the 'own damage' element of a claim (i.e the damage to your own car, or personal injury sustained by the policyholder themselves)

For an insurer to repudiate the third party element of any claim (i.e. not pay out for damage to another car or person) irrespective of what idiocy the policyholder had been up to, is a huge, massive deal, going right up to the most senior of management to make a call on.

I worked in motor insurance for many years and only ever saw it happen once (and it was not just a simple mistake on the part of the policy holder, but a long and concerted fraud).

(see also 'Driving immediately after a C-section invalidates your insurance' - in 99% of cases, it would still pay out)

@Felford you're being ridiculous! The person driving the car has not received the letter. He can't stop when he is unaware! of the contents of a letter he's not yet received!

To be honest, I wish the DVLA was more rigorous about taking licences way when people are diagnosed with conditions.

My mum's Parkinson's is really bad now (she can't talk and uses a wheelchair) but when she completed her over 70 3 year licence renewal last year she could still 'technically' have driven an automatic car - all she had to do was tick the box to say her condition was managed and that was it. There's NO WAY IN THE WORLD my mother was safe to be in charge of a killing machine, much less an automatic (which my father had insisted on getting 'so your mum can still drive' - he was in denial ). I had nightmares about my mother being one of those headlines you read about in the paper where innocent people get mown down in car parks when old people mix up the pedals.

But because she'd also been lying to the Dr and was apparently 'taking her medication' (she wasn't, but no one checked, and dad allowed her to self-medicate) the Dr knew nothing. But even then I think Dr's hands are tied in many cases unless the patient is obviously a danger? (Not sure - I don't live in the UK myself, so under a different healthcare system. And because Parkinson's is progressive, when the 'being a danger' kick in anyway when there are hardly any check ups done and resources are overstretched to do those check ups?).

But there's the rub - while the law says she just has to 'notify' the DVLA of her condition (which she did) unless she'd had an accident (academic now - she's in a care home, and probably won't be with us this time next year) even the Dr wasn't able to force the DVLA to take way her licence because technically he had no evidence to do so. And mum was certainly not going to own up to her deterioration!

And yet someone with SA has theirs revoked? When it's apparently managed? (But the OP's husband should still stop driving until it's sorted - one person's 'managed' is another person's 'potentially dangerous' because we're not medical professionals, or responsible for the safety of the majority of the driving public). I suppose what I'm saying is, it's so inconsistent at the moment, and that means it can seem very unfair.

But cars are killing machines when things go wrong - it might be your fault because of illness (undisclosed or undiagnosed) or it might not, but they are killing machines and the rules aren't tight enough when it comes to self-certifying.

Sorry to derail the thread slightly.

Try not to worry op. He'll be home soon and you can make a plan. The Sleep Apnea Association website has some useful information about dealing with the DVLA and your DH's responsibilities. You've had some unexpected and pretty crap news, you must be reeling. Hopefully he will have his licence back soon.

I am just wondering if there was a way to have a conversation with his Dr or the DVLA to say he has machine and he has an app with before and after evidence of his sleep pattern and he is not a danger (never mind the twenty odd years he has been driving without a diagnosis or a CPAP machine!).

I wonder if it would be worth getting a private appointment with a sleep clinic to get this sorted out quickly.

There is lots of incorrect advice on this thread especially from posters not realising the difference between surrendering your licence, and having it revoked.

OP it sounds like your DH is going to have to go through the process of formally disagreeing with the DVLA's decision- I posted it up thread.

Unfortunately your DH Is now doing something wrong. His licence has been revoked, whether he believes this is wrong or not, and he has to go through the formal process of getting it back. The service of notice stuff, two days from letter etc is unimportant, the current situation is as it is.

I know it's shit, and massively inconvenient, and out of the blue. Losing my licence unexpectedly has been literally life changing for me as I am also disabled so now dependent and confined to the house a lot. My DCs' lives have had to change. I have cried about it a lot! Nonetheless it is what it is. It doesn't matter if I believe I am safe (and I do as my epilepsy is nocturnal) I have to be seizure free for a year. Holding a driving licence is not an automatic right. It's not just our own safety, it's everyone around us and DVLA err on the side of caution.

Nacreous Oops! That was me, muddling sleep apnoea with narcolepsy. Sorry!

It seems that this is probably all down to miscommunication. OP's DH is treating himself and is safe on the road but his doctor and therefore the DVLA are unaware of this. I think he should phone the DVLA and see if they will tell him what has happened.

He hasn't received the letter yet, so he is fine till he gets home, unless they've phoned him to tell him, which I assume they haven't.

I'm puzzled, as he is sleeping with a mask, so he is receiving treatment, but obvs I don't have all the details. He should be able to get the licence back fairly quickly - but they have to play safe.

Agree that he should drive home before he reads the letter but it's still shit.
Hopefully there is a public transport option to get him to his workplace while he sorts this out.

OhDear no worries! Makes it a bit more of a legalistic problem and less a “risk of running people off the roads” problem! I think driving with narcolepsy would definitely be extremely ill advised!!

I'm staggered on here at the general thought processes on there that it's down to someone else to prompt them to report a potential issue with their ability to drive safely, as opposed to it being theirs?!

It's YOUR responsibility, regardless of whether a Dr has told you "don't drive" or not! That's the responsibility you take when you get behind the wheel, that you are capable to drive safely and not be a risk to yourself/other road users - it is NO ONE ELSE'S RESPONSIBILITY.

ANYTHING which impairs your ability to drive should see you removing yourself from the vehicle as a precaution.

Goodness sake's.

DoinItForTheKids

It never has impaired his ability to drive and he was only diagnosed a few months ago (so didn’t even know he had it) and as soon as he was sorted out his own CPAP machine which he has been using.

If your theory is true then all parents of small children should remove themselves from the road.

It’s irrelevant what anyone on here thinks, it’s irrelevant what you and your husband think.

The process has to happen to decide what happens next. Once he’s home from this journey, no more driving until the DVLA have reinstated his licence.

It really is that simple OP.

YeTalkShiteHen

Thanks - that’s glaringly obvious and at no point have I indicated that DH would drive until allowed to do so.

I just wondered what the best way is to sort this swiftly as it’s really really going to affect us badly. DH has had s kids midweek which he won’t be able to do either.

I put the procedure up thread if you want to dispute the DVLA decision.

I know how stressful this is but lots of people have taken time to advise you on this thread and you seem to just want to ignore all this and pick a fight and be sarcastic, tbh.

And I have thanked those posters.

People stating the obvious as if I or my DH are committing a crime are not helpful.

At no point was I told not to drive. This was by a reputable NHS sleep clinic in the south east following an overnight sleep study and a consultant discussing the results

My husband had the same, probably the same sleep clinic. He was never told not to drive either. He purchased his own CPAP machine directly, and the DVLA was never mentioned by anyone.
I don't see any point in telling them now as the machine means he sleeps better than he ever has in his adult life.

It's going to cost you time and money. No one can help to expedite this problem. We don't have magic wands.

It's stressful. It's a major problem. One you and your DH have to fix.

Loads of good advice on this thread.

You have come across as extremely defensive and more interested in arguing than accepting any useful advice tbh. And your DH is actually currently committing a crime as his licence has been revoked. I genuinely hope you get it sorted but you both need to acknowledge the situation as it is, and address it properly, not scoff at it and think your circumstances excuse him - lots of other people also have pressing reasons to drive but are unable to, sadly.

Thanks - that’s glaringly obvious and at no point have I indicated that DH would drive until allowed to do so

You know what is glaringly obvious OP? Your inability to understand that the rules apply to you, and that you have to comply with them.

Stop fucking whinging and get on to the DVLA.