I saw this week a letter in a motoring publication where someone who had a pacemaker since 2013 fitted for arrhythmia and presumably been driving since ok, has at the age of 70 when he came to apply for his licence as you are required to do every three years after age 70 had his licence refused.
I was wondering if anyone on here has any experience of the same thing whilst I am not 70 yet but only a few years away am now rather concerned about having the same thing happen.
Any information appreciated
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Redcollector
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Pacemakers need to be advised to DVLA so I am guessing that he hadn't and they refused because he had been driving illegally. Provided that you jump through all their hoops all should be OK once the "rest period" is over.
Thanks for your reply, you may be right, I was trying to see if arriving at 70 with a pacemaker automatically excluded you from driving and mainly if anyone had experienced that or conversely been allowed to carry on driving with no issue after 70.
No not as far as I know. I did decide to abandon my grandfather rights when I hit 70 as my boys or their mates can drive any transporters we may have for the race team. I just didn't see the point in the expense of a medical to be able to drive a truck I didn't want to. Gave all that up when I retired!
Yes I still have all my normal car/ small van/ caravan /trailer permits. just not the larger vehicles and trucks which require a medical report.
My boys are into rally and drifting and I build engines for historic race cars. It is my intention to get a section 59 notice on my 80th birthday for furious driving in one of the Skyline drift cars. (Not my BMW). You don't stop having fun becuase you get old. You get old when you stop having fun. I have annual ROSPA appraisals so I can hold my head up against my similarly qualified wife and her blasted Fiesta ST which she claims is faster than my BMW ( by 0.2 seconds to 60 lol 😂) .
just received my driving licence back after declaring my pacemaker as long as you are in regular contact with your gp and keep appointments you should be ok I am 75 I had no problem it is not as bad as some people think and you have the right of appeal if they fail to renew it
When I was diagnosed with P -Atrial Fibrillation I notified the DVLA by filling in a form, the requirement for notification has changed slightly since then. It does not affect my ability to drive and I received a letter back saying it was ok to continue driving but I must notify them of any changes. They will also have checked with my Doctor.
I have to apply for a licence to replace my old paper licence at 70 (next year) and am pleased now that I told them at the time. I also told my insurance company at the same time, they weren't interested. I guess they thought if I was considered by a Doctor as ok to drive there was no problem .
When you have read the link I posted I would have a chat with your GP
Thanks for your reply, my question was really posed to see if anyone else had experienced a licence rejection based on their age particularly or not.
As in the case in question it does make you wonder if they were ok for the person to drive when he was 69, what changed. But the previous contributor may have a point that perhaps he hadn’t informed previously.
RC my understanding is age is not the significant factor here , does you condition make you unsuited to drive is the important thing and that is based on a number of factors .
The article states...''You must tell DVLA if you have been fitted with a pacemaker''.
If a person fails to do this then applies for a licence at 70 the DVLA may take a dim view of that.
Because as I suggested he had been breaking the law for some time it only came to light when he applied aged 70. . Age was not the factor here and I assume that had he complied with the rules he may well have been able to re-apply for his license. DVLA do not like to have their rules flouted and he was lucky he did not get the £1000 fine to boot.
I know that when older people have issues which may result in a conviction they can often avoid this if they surrender their license. This happened to my father after he forgot his automatic was in gear and revved it up sending him into the front of the house opposite aged 92. He was told that if he did not voluntarily surrender it he would face dangerous driving charges and loose it anyway.
Hi my Dad also had a pacemaker implant in his late 70's, told DVLA at the time and carried on driving until he gave up driving in his late 80's, so you should have no problems. Sounds as if the whole story was not told, even if they had refused his license I am sure he could have got it back, but he would have had to provide medical details via his specialist that he was okay to drive.
It seems like age is no barrier, the only other thing I can think is whether it was the arrhythmia that was the issue, but I thought hat was one of the main reasons people had pacemakers.
I agree with Bob - it’s the none informing that probably was the issue - DVLA give you license to drive so it’s not an automatic right so if you don’t play by their rules they are going to revoke your license.
We were told at the AFA Patient Day that you also now have to inform DVLA if you have AF. My list is growing as I now have 4 conditions I have to report but still driving, as is husband who is 85 and has had a pacemaker for 5 years. The only time it becomes more than an administrative process is if you fail your eyesight test or you have been told by a doctor you should not drive or DVLA contact your docotors for a report and they say it would be inadvisable. I had to surrender my license for 6 months when I had vision problems but it was fairly easy and straightforward to get it back again when the problem resolved.
I informed the DVLA that i have been having AF episodes and i had to surrender my licence for one year. My episodes are very debilitating and I have passed out etc. 😢
I have had no problem when I needed to apply for my driving license I am 72, I had to stop driving for three months after having a CRT pacemaker fitted
I had pacemaker (2011)and AV node ablation (2015). I informed DVLA after pacemaker and Was told there wasn’t a problem. As I am 70 in December I have applied again and there wasn’t a problem renewing my licence. So I am thinking there may be other issues involved. Hope all goes well. I’m sure it will.
I’m 57, a type 1 diabetic, and have had a Pacemaker since July 18. I immediately informed DVLA as soon as I came out of hospital and filled out the questionare and returned it to the medical unit at DVLA. About a month later they wrote back and cleared me to drive. As a diabetic, I already have a restricted three yearly licence and I thought the pacemaker would be the nail in the cofin for my licence but thankfully I was given thumbs up. It’s so important to inform them at the earliest time of any changes that could affect your driving. Otherwise your putting yourself and others in danger if the appropriate authorities are not informed.
There is a beta web version of software which allows you to tell the DVLA that you have an arrhythmia and or pacemaker. It's a bit of a blunt instrument - there is a category for medical conditions and another for treatments and I found it hard to see how to use it. A reply said "did you have the pacemaker for arhythmia?" To which I replied yes. Perhaps as this is not a brilliant piece of software, best to write a proper letter which I will do. I am 71 do agree with others that it's definitely not an age related issue.
RC the details about notifying the DVLA are all include in the links I posted above. The rules were updated this summer and now state..
[Quote DVLA
You must tell DVLA if you have a driving licence and:
you develop a ‘notifiable’ medical condition or disability
a condition or disability has got worse since you got your licence
Notifiable conditions are anything that could affect your ability to drive safely. They can include:
diabetes or taking insulin
syncope (fainting)
heart conditions (including atrial fibrillation and pacemakers)
sleep apnoea
epilepsy
strokes
glaucoma]
......Notifying the DVLA does not mean you will automatically be prevented from driving ,it gives the opportunity to asses your condition . When you contact the DVLA you fill in a questionnaire including your Doctors details and they will be used to assess you .
If someone has had treatment for a condition and it could be a procedure or medication and after a short period of time is considered to be stable and not a threat to themselves or other drives they are able to continue driving.
I live alone miles from anywhere and was scared to tell the DVLA about my AF but I take the view it is best to 'get in first' rather than have the DVLA find out by some other means.
Similarly, I am aware my eysight may have deteriorated since I had an eye test 18 months ago so I am not going to wait till the next test is due in 6 months time , I will arrange a test shortly. The onus is on me as a driver to make sure I comply with all the requirements to drive .
I've just had my driving licence renewed at 73, thankfully I don't need a pacemaker, but had afib diagnosis in 2014, both Cardio and GP said I didn't need to inform DVLA so when 70 came around, I didn't mention it. But now that I'm 73, I noticed on form this year that it was a notifiable condition, so asked GP and again he said NO because, he said, 'you don't suffer from breathlessness nor do you have blackouts' which happily, I do not, but which would obviously be a concern to anyone and think it's the crux of things as to why the DVLA need to know. So always best to tell them, they will check with GP/Cardio to double check things out and very happily I got my new licence back just a couple of weeks ago. But I am a marked woman...not apparently for the afib although that won't help, but the main highlight on their reply was that I now need to wear glasses for driving! Good luck, hope when the time comes, you get to keep your licence.
Like you, both my cardio and GP have said that I do not need to inform the DVLA of my PAF. I renewed my driving licence online earlier this year upon reaching 70 and certainly don't recall anything saying that I needed to inform them. I just checked on DVLA website and below is what I came up with:
Car or motorcycle licence
You must tell DVLA about your arrhythmia if one of the following applies:
you have distracting or disabling symptoms
your arrhythmia has caused or might cause incapacity
Talk to your doctor if you’re not sure if your arrhythmia causes other symptoms that will affect your driving, or if you must tell DVLA about them.
You must tell DVLA if your arrhythmia affects your driving.
I don't think that I need to inform them as I only ever get PAF whilst in bed at night and never drive the following day as it leaves me exhausted. My bouts of PAF are probably no more than 4 a year
Snap! I have PAF and thankfully, it only happens 4/5 times a year and always during the night. Personally, I think there’s a strong connection with the vagus nerve and digestive issues and I’m looking into that further with a gastro man I’m seeing soon, in the meantime i keep away from gluten and caffeine and I try to keep well hydrated!
But I digress, the issue is about the DVLA and whether or not to tell them, all I can say is I’ve read that if, god forbid, I was involved in an accident and it was my fault, the DVLA could impose a fine and my insurance company could negate the policy because they’d never been told, maybe someone could confirm that to be the case?
Yes I had a pacemaker fitted 4 years ago. I had to notify the DVLC and they sent me a medical form to fill in and after investigation they told me it was ok to drive. But you must declare it.
I thought you only have to inform about AF if the effects are debilitating and affect your ability to drive as per the wording on their web site.
My 84 year old Dad has a pacemaker fitted in May but was never told to inform the DVLA by the hospital. I will have to do this ASAP.
You do need to notify DVLA of a pacemaker and atrial fibrillation BUT whatever you do phone DVLA direct, don't try doing it on line because, like me you'll get side tracked into believing you need to get Experian as a government contractor to confirm your identity. You will be asked for every detail almost to your inside leg measurement. Then to your frustration Experian's site will go round in circles asking the same question repeatedly, until you finally explode and reach for the tablets.
I am 61 and had a pace maker earlier this year. I notified the DVLA using the online form. Had a letter back saying that I was fine to carry on Driving.
If you don’t tell them and they ask your GP or specialist for renewal at 70 you may get it revoked.
Just tell them the truth, but only what they need to know.
Thanks for your reply, at no point have I suggested not notifying the Dvla my question started due to someone turning 70 and getting his licence application declined so I was seeing what experiences others have had and I am please to say a lot of people have joined in.
In your case why did you have a pacemaker I am interested cos the online system directed me to filling the form in and posting it as the online system didn’t work.
I'm 71 & was advised to refrain from driving due to diziness etc. I had to surrender my licence & since a successful ablation for avrnt have now had it reinstated after 6 months!! I am now scheduled for a pacemaker implant, but do not see any issues driving again after a couple of weeks. I will of course have to advise DVLA & Insurance of my pacemaker. I will still need to renew my licence every 3 years though .
Have just contacted DVLC as I have a new pacemaker and they have replied saying as long as I have no dizzy spells or fainting there is no reason to stop driving! I am 83 years old by the way.
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this is the list of medical conditions that could affect a persons ability to drive....
Pacemaker
Pacemaker
pacemaker 
pacemaker
Pacemaker or Ablation 
