More of a Wwyd - friends son with epilepsy

[raspberryberet7]

My friends 17 yr old son has epilepsy and has it bad. For conte t he has had more than 8 seizures this year so far. He’s not supposed to drive until he is one year seizures free however he is continuing to have lessons. I’ve begged her not to let him as he is putting not only himself at danger but everyone else in the vicinity but she just won’t listen. She says he just wants to pass his test then he will stop. I really don’t know what to do it’s so dangerous

Have you been sniffing glue?

Do you think instructors have extra short arms or something?

It’s a DVLA report, for him to have a provisional license he will have fraudulently completed documentation, they won’t have issued based on his health.

Therefore the driving instructor is very unlikely to know.

For those saying he has dual controls, yes absolutely, however depending on the seizures, he could have clonic spasms, and pull the steering wheel left or right, with minimal warning, and before you know it he’s in a ditch. Everyone is always happy when there’s another individual to “save the day”, but if you loved one was killed, you’d soon stand up in court against them.

So it was me who said about the dual controls - I did not say it was ok, or legal or a good idea - I was just trying to understand the friends rationale.

I have epilepsy. Please report it. It’s unfortunate for the young man that he may have to delay driving, or may never be able to drive at all, but he needs to learn sooner rather than later that life isn’t always fair and you don’t always get what you want. The mother, however, is who I blame more here - she’s the adult and she should be making it abundantly clear. Does she really want something terrible to happen where her son may be responsible for ending someone’s life? He would be in prison then.

For all those saying it’s dual control it’s fine, it’s really not. It’s illegal therefore I’m guessing the driving instructor has no idea he has epilepsy

Report, report, report. DVLA & the police. If she’s that good a friend you can find out the driving school (eg ask if she’d recommend it) & tell them too.

If she’s this laissez-faire about him learning to drive when it’s illegal there is no way in hell she would stop him driving once he theoretically passes his test - she’s likely to be. ‘Well he was ok when learning / it’s just to the school / quick trip to the shops’ etc so this needs to be knocked on the head now.

However, she is likely to lose it when his lessons are stopped / if the police call round. And don’t forget that if he’s practicing, he’s doing so without a valid license which invalidates any insurance, either on the school’s car or his mother’s if he’s practicing in that - which is an offence in itself with a jail term. If she’s abetting that, she too could face charges.

But you need to get him stopped from driving.

I tried to report someone I know for driving despite having seizures, but I couldn't make the report without their driving license number and address. So they're still driving

Exactly.

But also, even if that was safe, his plan of passing his test and then not driving for months or years is dangerous. He'll have completely deskilled by the time he gets to drive again.

Yes please report to the dvla.

My ds has a medical license and mobility car (physical disability) and as much as medical licenses are a PITA and take forrreeeevvvverrrrr to sort they are there for a reason.

My ds saw his consultant this morning who had been asked for information for his renewal (expired a few days ago) as he has a degenerative condition and she spent a good 1/2 of the consult completing the form with him and going through everything.

Yes, it means currently I’m driving my adult ds everywhere in his car adapted for him to drive. But that’s life with a disability. It sucks but you can’t risk others lives to make yours more bearable.

If instructor or driving test examiner doesn't know he has epilepsy that would be a serious problem.

If you don't know the driving instructor can you tell the local test centre, as I assume he will be booked in for a test.

Report to the driving instructor and let him/her deal with it. My husband is a driving instructor and I swear I would swing for anyone who knowingly put him in danger. It's a difficult one but by acting now you could save a life or 2

What an absolutely stupid comment do you know what duel controls can and can't do? No clearly not

No the instructor won't due to the rigid convulsions...ie the arms are locked straight with the hands gripping the wheel which the instructor has not a hope of releasing.

I would honestly have to end a friendship over this. Can you imagine if he runs someone over and you could have stopped it?

Ask for a recommendation for the driving instructor, call them up and tell them. This is an absolute nightmare waiting to happen and I'd feel so terribly guilty if I continued to ignore it. She is being both selfish and stupid.

Have you seen the news today where the young boy killed on the M6 was trying to steer the car as his father had a seizure.
The 14 year old boy died and the father has gone to prison for ten years.

@Babs1937 that is such an awful story

It’s all very well saying the instructor can take control of the car, but the instructor doesn’t know the kid has epilepsy so it’s going to take a moment for them to realise what’s going on. They’re also likely to be panicking about how to deal with a medical emergency as well as how to deal with the car. It’s really out of order to put the poor instructor in this position.

This thread has really hit a nerve with me. Those saying the instructor has duel controls so its ok? Seriously think about this and whatever you are on stop taking it! I cannot believe in 1 thread there are so many that a) do not know the law and B) have so little regard for other peoples safety. This is ILLEGAL the instructor will not know about this, his life is at risk every time he gets in the car with this lad and the job is risky enough without this. Duel controls are a tool instructors use but are not a sure fire way to keep safe. As the wife of an ADI I have the luxury of knowing what I am talking about unlike some on this thread.

OP in the name of everything holy please report this, its a tragedy waiting to happen! Don't feel guilty about doing it, he has no right to be on the road and the instructor needs to know. Sorry but I would be happy to lose this friend.

My neighbour’s first seizure was whilst driving, the car immediately mounted the verge and flipped through a fence/hedge. He and his wife were very lucky to survive.

In that instance there were no actions anyone could have taken that were quick enough to have stopped the accident.

Driving with uncontrolled epilepsy is a really stupid and dangerous thing to do.

When I had my driving lessons my instructor was very reassuring that he could break quickly and grab the steering wheel again quickly if needs be. The instructors are trained to react very quickly as that is their job, they are in a car with people who can't drive and could easily make mistakes.You have made your feelings known. Hopefully he has made his instructor aware of his epilepsy and he has done a risk assessment with that information.

I’m aghast at some of these replies.

People with uncontrolled epilepsy are not allowed to learn to drive.

He has LIED to the DVLA in order to obtain a licence so he can learn to drive against the law.

There is no way on earth that the driving instructor knows the truth about his health.

I would be ringing the DVLA immediately.

I would very much doubt the driving instructors insurance would cover them for a trainee with epilepsy who had not been seizure free for 12 months. The law seems very strict on that.

I can tell you now no driving instructor would carry on with this and they would be reported to the dvla and the other local driving instructors so he would never find another locally