In yesterday's Daily Mail, in their short articles column, there was the following article. I know this may open up the old chestnut again (but I am NOT posting to do that!!! - it is just for information as many won't get the Mail. It doesn't specifically mention AF but of course that is covered by heart conditions as would faulty or replaced heart valves, etc.
Nearly a third of older drivers are at risk of invalidating their driving licence [and therefore their insurance] by failing to inform the DVLA about a medical condition such as diabetes or epilepsy. Around one in ten drivers have a condition they should declare. Other examples include sight problems or HEART [my caps] conditions.
Written by
PeterWh
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Yes Peter we did this to death last year and I was proved wrong! In early 2015 the DVLA advice changed and AF is no longer a notifiable condition UNLESS IT IS DISTRACTING OR CAUSES BLACKOUTS. £1000 fine for non compliance.
I asked my cardiologist on this when I last saw him as I used to black out and did again in November and he said it wasn't worth notifying as it's not frequent and it's down to common sense to pull over or not drive if you begin to feel unwell...
Sophie - you might want to consider a what-if situation. As you have had blackouts, that is most likely in your medical notes. In the event of an accident, even if it was not caused or contributed to by you, a lawyer could claim you had something to hide if your notes were used in a court case. Just a thought . . .
Well that's exactly what I thought, but then my dad agreed with him and told me not to bother as it will put my insurance up loads, but like you said insurance or court case..
Sophie, you are in a very difficult situation. The issue is what will happen if you had a blackout whilst you were driving? The consequencies could be unthinkable.
Finvola beat me to it (I had to reboot). Personally I would tell DVLA and your insurance company. I would quote the words your consultant said. If they want verification they will contact you Consultant and / or your GP. DVLA will issue you with a letter which is your written evidence of the benchmarking. After that all that comes into question is any developments that make things worse (or better).
I am 99% certain that your consultant will not have written down that information in your notes and so in essence it is circumstantial / variable comments which hold little weight.
Although i have had paf since 2001 it was not diagnosed/confirmed until this month and one could say it has been under investigation all that time. At no time during this period has any clinician advised me to notify DVLA. (I have only had four incidents that i am aware of during my waking hours). Should i/must i notify my motor insurers? Or is it unnecessary as it is not notifiable to DVLA?
Personally I would. Very unlikely to make any difference to premium but then they can not argue any significance later because it is on record that they have accepted.
Jonjub as I said above until last year you HAD to tell DVLA under the terms of the "Advice to drivers regarding medical conditions" section of DVLA website. Threat of £1000 fine if you did not. Unfortunately and in typical Government department fashion under similar advice to medical practitioners, AF was not notifiable. To make matters more confusing when you advised and had to complete form H1, question 1 asked " has a doctor told you not to drive or to advise DVLA etc. " putting NO there render the next questions irrelevant. At HRC in 2014 this subject was aired when Matt Fay told us all that we did not need to tell DVLA about AF which at that time was incorrect and following which clarification was sought and hence the new rules.
Again an interesting problem because the last proposal I filled in asked "do you have any medical condition which needs to be advised to DVLA?" I answered NO since I no longer have AF. Again unless you have been told by your doctor so to do or you fall into the "distracted or black out" range then technically you do not need to tell them. On the other hand we see so many cases where insurance companies try to get out of claims that it is usually better to tell them and get it on file.
I notified the DVLA and my insurance company even though my answers (to the DVLA) didn't appear to make sense (see BobD's point two posts above). I am just aware of too many instances where insurance companies try and wriggle out of paying out for totally unrelated reasons not disclosed, never mind one where there is a (imperfect and confusing) mechanism for possible disclosure.
My insurance company wanted to know about my AF. It didn't make s difference to my premium. ( marks and Spencer ) ( motor insurance )
Ask medics (consultants, doctors, GPs, nurses, etc) if they write down any notes relating to DVLA, driving advice and car insurance. I think that you will find the answer is nothing or very occasionally unless formally written to by DVLA or insurance companies. This way they are off the hook!!!
I have had concerns about this lately. My most recent 5 day tape showed 5 second pauses and i do get dizzy. I expressly asked about driving restrictions as it is essential i drive for my job...i was told by the doctor there are no legal restrictions but to be sensible about driving when i am symptomatic of arrythmias as this is when my dizziness occurs and luckily mostly at night. I am going to ask my doctor to document this advice though in my medical notes and i will update my insurance and DVLNI of it just to be covered. I will NEVER, however, buy the Daily Mail LOL xx
High Vony, completely agree about Mail - but then the only newspaper I buy is for hubby.
My husband showed pauses of 4-5 seconds with and after AF episode ,and some for up to 9 seconds. He was very specifically told not to drive until a pace maker was inserted. He couldn't drive for 10 weeks (of hell for all In vicinity) but is now fine and doesn't have the worry of blackouts. He was completely asymptomatic, didn't even feel dizzy.
I think you would be wise to get your doctor to document his advice and I think you would be wise to download the DVLA notification and be clear with them.
I rang my insurance company after informing DVLA, as I was eventually cleared to drive, and was told they really didn't want to know - they took it that if the DVLA said I was or was not ok to drive - that was their criteria but I had to be sure I met the DVLA criteria. The DVLA wrote to 3 of my consultants (various conditions) then sent me for a medical report and an eye test which was the most farcical test I ever had as it was purely a normal sight test which was completely inappropriate for my condition, the optometrist said it was ridiculous but you have to tick the boxes!
I found this post interesting as I'm a hgv driver and 12 months ago contracted Myocarditis and ended up in hospital .
I asked my consultant about weather I should inform DVLA as I am a HGV driver and he looked at and said what for , I have not worked for the last 12 months until I was given the all clear to stop all the medication (which the side effects are terrible )was recently, as you may be aware hgv drivers have to have a medical every 5 years and I had mine just before I contracted this so I have informed my GP that I need a FULL medical before I resume driving even though he says I don't need it and will be wasting £125 in doing so but I insisted as I couldn't live with myself if I had an accident .
Alan. I think that you are absolutely right and in fact I think that there should be more compulsory tests not only for HGV Drivers but also for Class 1 Drivers.
Below is a link to the main AFA website for professionals and if you scroll down a bit they have linked to the DVLA regulations.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
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