Posting here for traffic! Any gps.about?Its an.adult ADD driiving question .. !

[Hellsbells55]

Have so many.symptoms.of ADD.
I saw.gp today who in the past has said no point in diagnosis.
Today I told him that I was really struggling.. have burnt pans etc. He was not appearing to listen much until told him when driving last .week , for a few second s, i forgot i was driving as I was looking at a pattern on my glove .. which for a second transfixed me.
He has said he will asses me next week but that I.am not.allowed.to drive. In meantime and that I need to tell the dvla

Looked it up and the dvla seems to say that you have to report a DIAGNOSIS of adhd.
I have not got that tho? I have put a note on my dashboard.to say concentrate.
I dont know if the gp is correct?? Anyone kmow anything about this? Been diagnosed? I OF COURSE WOULD TELL DVLA IF I HAD DIAGNOSIS AS IS REQUIRED .. BUT AT PRESENT I AM.SIMPLY AT ASSESMENT STAGE..any advice.....

Taken aback. I have to drive to work! But i am now feeling upset and taken aback? All v new! I wd not put people at risk but i do.not have any assesment yet...Do i need to.contact.dvla at this stage ? Thank you.

@Hellsbells55

No its not a new thing ., its a thing that seems increased .

Even more reason to be considering a physical cause. Speak to your GP again.

What i.mean is i think ive always been prone to distraction... but.my awareness.of it.has incteased. Thus it seems to be increased .

Of course people can be distracted for a split second, but that is not what you are describing. You said you forgot you were driving! That is pretty extreme and completely unsafe. I understand not driving is an inconvenience and upsetting for you, but this is really really serious and your responses on here don’t seem to fully comprehend how bad this is. You could easily kill yourself or someone else: a court case and prison sentence will be much more upsetting. Plus, even without an accident, if you drive and are found out after your GP has said not to, there is a good chance you will lose your license, possibly for good.

If you want a diagnosis, go private if you can afford it at all as the waiting will be for a long time on the nhs. A very long time, if my son's experience is anything to go by.

@Hellsbells55

What i.mean is i think ive always been prone to distraction... but.my awareness.of it.has incteased. Thus it seems to be increased .

Good, now you are aware you can stop driving, for everyone's safety.

Agree with @Drunkpanda, I did this for my autism diagnosis a few years ago. The NHS cannot keep up with referrals, particularly for adults and the wait time I was given was at least 18 months. This was pre covid too, so I am guessing it is even worse now

I’ve applied for 3 driving licenses in the last year, one renewal and 2 learner drivers all with ADD, as others have said it is ONLY a requirement IF it is affecting your driving

But a GP can’t diagnose you and an NHS assessment waiting time is currently 2-3 years

@Tomnooktoldmeto

I’ve applied for 3 driving licenses in the last year, one renewal and 2 learner drivers all with ADD, as others have said it is ONLY a requirement IF it is affecting your driving

But a GP can’t diagnose you and an NHS assessment waiting time is currently 2-3 years

And it doesn't matter if OP is diagnosed or not because OP recognises their distraction when driving and should stop. It's a matter of safety not diagnosis.

I think the ADD is a bit of a red herring in all this. The only thing you need to think about is that your doctor has said you should not drive. This means that they can inform DVLA without your knowledge. It also means that it is illegal to drive and your insurance will be invalid if you have an accident in that time. So regardless of what you think about the circumstances, you will be breaking the law if you now choose to drive. Any further conversation around the rights and wrongs are irrelevant

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8977836/

Can you put stratagies in place to focus better.?
Awareness is key I would imagine ? (.assuming no other conditions).

I know this is after an operation, but there are many articles stating the same, that it is illegal to drive when your doctor has said you shouldn’t. Feel free to google it

I know it’s upsetting OP. But just because you were driving yesterday does not mean you should have been.
Think what could happen if something happens on the road while you are driving- somebody could die! You could end up in prison!
Really, stopping the driving - for now - is the safest thing to do, and it’s on medical advice.

I wonder if you have a colleague who’d give you a lift? Or a neighbour driving in the same direction?

Could you arrange to work from home for a while?

Could you buy a bike?

I live very very rurally and cant work from home. I cant ride a bike as i have a long term.knee problem
I will pay for a taxi which means 2 hours of my work will use to.pay the taxi.
Thank you for suggestion tho.
I have been driving for 38 years and i guess i need to let this sink in and accept.

GP can’t assess you for ADHD. That diagnosis can only be made by a psychiatrist.

@Freelady

I live very very rurally and cant work from home. I cant ride a bike as i have a long term.knee problem I will pay for a taxi which means 2 hours of my work will use to.pay the taxi. Thank you for suggestion tho. I have been driving for 38 years and i guess i need to let this sink in and accept.

If you get either a physical or neurological diagnosis and it can be successfully treated with medication, then you might be able to drive again in due course. As it stands now, you need a pause until you are safe again.

Think of this as a way of protecting yourself from either hurting yourself or someone else. A second distraction of this sort could ruin yours and someone else’s life.

Sorry, OP - you told the GP you were distracted for a significant period of time by something the average person wouldn't be distracted by (enough that they decided you might need assessing for ADHD) and that therefore, medically, until you get assessed and they can work out what is causing that lack of focus - ADHD or otherwise - it's not safe for you to drive.

If you were doing 30mph, 'a few' (let's say 3) seconds distraction means that while you were distracted, you travelled 132 feet - more than the length of 2 HGVs.

Anything could have happened in that time.

If you were doing 40mph, it's 176 feet.

At a motorway speed of 70mph, that's over 300 feet you've travelled in those few seconds - the length of a football field. Would you close your eyes for the length of a football pitch and think that was safe?

I feel for you - I have ADHD but thankfully I find driving focuses me better than anything else, and I've never suffered with lack of attention while driving.

But either: your inattention isn't that bad and you exaggerated to get the doctor to assess you (and I understand doctors are often reluctant, so I can see why), in which case you've now screwed yourself over, OR it is that bad, in which case you absolutely shouldn't be driving until they can assess why because it's not safe. And even if you get a diagnosis, unless meds make a considerable difference, you may be considered unsafe to drive.

Also, it's not: 'you have to tell the DVLA if you have a diagnosis'. It's, 'you have to tell the DVLA if you have symptoms that make it unsafe for you to drive', diagnosis or not.

I really, really hope you don't kill anyone with your 'forgot I was driving because I was looking at my glove'.

Horrific and selfish.