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home from a trip to the other side of the country and I have received a letter from the DVLA saying his licence has been revoked as of immidiate effect from yesterday - WTAF?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

This happened to a friend, exactly same circumstances. Afraid to say it took months to resolve.

@Blushah I still don’t read that as them saying he needs to slam the brakes on mid-motorway nor would any sensible person.

I don’t think you will get the quick fix you’re looking for with the DLVA OP, I would say it will take a couple of months at least to get his licence back.

The entire point of the thread is that he hadn't been told . !!

I have been in this exact situation. I had sleep apnea tests at the sleep clinic. Diagnosed with moderate sleep apnea. Consultant issued a CPAP. Told me that I might need to 'think' about informing DVLA. Not them- me. However as I had completed a questionnaire about sleep and tiredness and had answered all questions about daytime tiredness negatively- they said it was my choice.
I used a CPAP for 3 months and retest showed it to now be mild/virtually clear.

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.

Too many pearl clutchers desperate to revel in others difficulties on here.

If the consultant did indeed tell him he shouldn't be driving and this is the 'confirmation' then he has no leg to stand on.
Doesn't sound like it though.
The police here confirmed he would not be charged with any offence.

Has he sent in his medical form yet? I'm currently driving under a section 88 as it takes the dvla ages to process the medical stuff.

FFS - my DH is totally safe - HE IS USING A CPAP MACHINE!!!

He is doing nothing dangerous.

Why do people assume that just because he informed the DVla he should have immediately stopped driving? I had to inform them of my bipolar but I still drive, I just pay a fortune for insurance and if I’m unstable i have to wait til I’ve been stable for a while to drive again. My uncle has sleep apnea and drives. My sons step mum is epileptic and will never drive. It’s all personal to his condition but I would say if he’s correctly medicated and can prove it they will give him his lisense back.

In all honesty I wouldn’t tell him til he was home. (But I know that’s not popular on here)

@fontofnoknowledge

again - regardless of him not being charged with an offence - there is a significant risk his insurer would not cover him.

There is a different test for driving uninsured - compared to the insurers civil liability to pay out under an insurance policy.

I'm not clutching my pearls - or even presenting an opinion.

It is simply a fact that there is a significant risk that an insurance company would not pay out for a claim for an accident caused by the OP's partner in these circumstances on the grounds that he had not disclosed a material change in his circumstances (being that he was aware that he had a medical condition which was notifiable to the DVLA). Even if the consultant didn't tell him he should stop driving immediately - the fact that they considered it worthy of notifying the DVLA is highly likely to be considered a sufficient material fact.

@LadyRussell - and yet the DVLA think he is?

I think most people believe you OP, it seems he has it under control, you just need to prove that to the DLVA which is a lengthy process. Did they tell you to inform the DLVA or just suggest it might be a good idea?

What date was the letter posted on? They will class that plus however many days for each service as the date it should be received on

As anyone who has had tax credits, job seekers help etc etc will contest they often post letters with deadlines way too close, a letter sent second class for an appt the next day etc.

Unless they posted it with sufficient notice for the letter to get there by yesterday, there is no realistic expectation that he would stop driving yesterday. The realistic thing to do is to finish his journey, and then make preparations to deal with DVLA and not drive until that is sorted.

No OP he’s not safe until people who are qualified to deem him safe do so. His dr clearly doesn’t think he is else the dvla wouldn’t have been informed. The dvla also don’t think he’s safe. They are the qualified people not you.

As stressful as this is he can not drive and so he needs to amend his life accordingly and that starts with him informing work and seeing what can be done. It isn’t going to be resolved quickly

Fireworks91
I believe the letter was posted yesterday, and the DOJ website cites two days from posting, so service will be deemed as tomorrow.

With regards to him not receiving the letter my husband works abroad and you must ensure there is a practise in place for a person to receive the mail and inform the person abroad. We didn't receive a parking fine but ended up paying £600 because it was for us to prove we didn't receive it, not for them to prove anything. Once posted, by law it is seen as received by the recipient or their trusted person. He needs to be informed now and get off the road. He's an illegal, uninsured driver. You have no defence on this.

I suspect he should have voluntarily revoked his licence when he was diagnosed so I suspect that he has been driving illegally since then. The law is you stop immediately then can only start once your gp/specialist confirms it's safe to do so. I suspect that since you volunteered the information they have written to the gp. From what I read in our case you stop the day you report your condition. Safety is always put first. As to what to do, personally I would get them to pull over somewhere safe and go and take over the driving myself

Mummabearfourbabybears
Once posted, by law it is seen as received by the recipient or their trusted person.
Department of Justice website says service is deemed as two days from posting assuming first class.

"FFS - my DH is totally safe "

So why did he inform DVLA-of what & why?

Well it was posted yesterday so they won't expect him to know about it. Our post doesn't come until the afternoon so many would already have left for work by now and not find out until they get home.

They will say from immediate effect so that people don't pretend to lose the letter and find it a week later etc

Actually it’s probably because of the Glasgow bin lorry crash that the DVLA have done this, they admitted that their self regulatory system wasn’t working and indirectly resulted in the deaths of 6 people.

So shit as it is OP, once he’s home, he needs to put his car keys away until the proper procedures have been completed.

My brother drove with a revoked licence, therefore no insurance, and lied about his medical condition. His was fully under control too, until it wasn’t.

He’s going to prison.

Once posted, by law it is seen as received by the recipient or their trusted person.

Nope. It’s 2 days after posting. I.e tomorrow.

OP, I get what you are saying, your DH is not doing anything dangerous because he is using the CPAP machine, he will not fall asleep. I agree with you.

However, you still have to go through the DVLA process, there is no way around it. Your H needs to ring the doctor asap to get the evidence that he requires.

No he is not a danger, but until that is proved to DVLA, they have quite rightly removed his licence.

Aren't the DVLA forms pretty standard?

The diabetic one needs to be completed by patient, then the second one by diabetic consultant.
Pretty basic/standard questions.

@LadyRussell can you afford to see the consultant privately if they do private work? Friend's sister's situation was resolved in under a fortnight but they coughed up £250 to see Consultant privately.

You're not in east of England are you? Hope it's not the same place.

"@LadyRussell

FFS - my DH is totally safe - HE IS USING A CPAP MACHINE!!!

He is doing nothing dangerous."

He is driving on a revoked license (even if he doesn't know it yet)which will have insurance implications so isn't exactly safe or everyone would be allowed to do it.

If he has an accident even if it isn't anything got to do with SA and the insurers refuse to pay out do you think anything will change because you shout about him using a CPAP machine?