Driving medical - depression

[Wonderfulday]

My son applied for his provisional driving license and had to go for a medical as he was on anti-depressants. His own GP and his CAMHS counsellor gave their statement to say he was stable and his condition nor his medication would have any impact on his ability to drive. HOWEVER he was still subjected to a medical by the driving agency which asked questions about my marriage, where we happy couple, what relationship did he have with siblings, they asked about the reason he self harmed, how deep the cuts were, where on his body he cut, why he had depression, what does he talk to his counsellor about, how was his school life, they didn't accept generic answers, they pushed and pushed. What relevance does any of that have on his ability to drive! I was expecting questions like, does your medication make you drowsy, have you thoughts of harming others etc AIBU to take this further as in a complaint?? Surely if the people treating him for years say he is stable they should accept that without making him divulge personal issues to a complete stranger about things that happened when he was about 15!!! I am so furious that he was put through this!

I fully understand and agree but my point is his GP and psychiatrist I'm CAMHS have said he is not a risk and not having suicidal thoughts, why isn't that sufficient?

Yes but my original question was, what has my marriage, his siblings relationship etc got to do with it.. they weren't they to diagnose or fix him, they were to assess his ability to learn to drive and why does it matter where his cuts where when he was 15 or how deep they were? I can understand them asking him is he suicidal now etc but the above questions, what relevance are they?

Ok, it has been a good few years since I applied for a license, but depression alone is not a reason for medical unless you have been told by your GP/psychiatrist that it is iffy for you to drive.

I agree - very well said.

It was because he hadn't been on his medication for more than 3 months

If her still needs his mother to speak on his behalf then he shouldn’t be driving a car OP. That is ridiculous.

You can agree but it doesn't make my post any less true, I'm not lying, what would I have to gain from that???

I’ve never heard of anyone needing any sort of driving medical because of taking anti-Ds, but if you think he’s been treated unjustly, then, yes, complain.

He doesn't, hence why I wasn't at the medical. He asked for my name to be added as he works full-time and they said they may call backmfor further info and he said to speak to me as he will probably not be able to answer during working hours, you are making big leaps

I have not heard of that either.
It is possible he ticked the wrong box on the DVLA form?

We have the letter from DVA, stating that was the reason

because the DVLA have to confirm that your son is safe to be behind the wheel of a car and isn't going to have an 'episode' and use his car as a means to harm himself and in turn perhaps harm others.

Im sorry this is harsh.. my BIL drove his car into a wall to kill himself, which he succeded to do, and also killed a completely innocent bystander!

its the same reason you have to have medicals when you are older.. imparied thinking is safe to others who use the road.

If he is under CAHMS/psychiatrist, then they will have been the first port of call about being suitable to drive.
Even the DVLA site states that.

Something seems off here.

Yes they did, I haven't listed all the questions, only a few I had the issue with. I really feel you are determined to catch me out on something, not sure why though

He’s going to be in charge of a 1 ton hunk of metal moving 70 miles an hour. Wrong moves kill people. The rule is he needs to be on the new meds 3 months? So they are following guidelines?
I presume the medical was done by a medical professional in and attempt to find out if they agree with his GPs judgement?

why did he declare it?

I agree! Which is why I want to complain!! He is only 17 so I still have contact with CAMHS, they gave him their full backing so I wasn't expecting him to get this level of questioning at the medical

Sorry you're getting the typical MN third degree OP. I think it's definitely worth you investigating further and seeing the transcript.

The questions they asked according to your report sound way too intrusive to me.

I wouldn't use the word "complain" as it sounds like you'll go in heavy and accusatory, but I would try to discuss it with someone at DVLA. If they refuse your son's license I might take it further.