Driving

[Mpove]

I've sent of a form notifying the dvla about my episode of syncope in May, I don't see a cardiologist until next week. It looks like I've got electrical issues looking at my ecg and also a ex cardiology nurse looked at a previous ecg. Anyway I'm still struggling with dizziness and have had a few pre syncope episodes, was just wondering what the dvla are likely to say about me driving?? Am I looking at a good 6 month ban until syncope is under control? I've got my car until January as its under a personal contract, can I give it bk early if your medically unfit to drive? Just wondering what others have had to do. Many thanks.

[Hidden]

The bottom line is that anything that’s ongoing that puts you at risk of not being able to safely stop or control your car, or that could potentially distract you enough to cause an accident, will likely warrant a temporary surrendering of your licence until such a time it’s under control. From experience for non-cardiac issues, after you send off the form, the DVLA will usually contact a named medical professional for their opinion on whether or not it’s safe for you to drive. I believe they say they’ll respond within 6 weeks, and you are not legally required to not drive whilst waiting for the decision, however, if you’re considering continuing whilst waiting for a reply, I would strongly suggest contacting your GP for their opinion. My personal stance would be that you probably shouldn’t drive in the interim due to the ongoing nature of your symptoms and the serious risk of harm to yourself and others if you were to have another episode whilst behind the wheel, and dizziness is also a reportable condition in its own right. When the DVLA write to you with their decision, they will set out when you’ll be eligible to reapply for your licence if applicable. If there’s a good chance of the issue being resolved, they usually specify a fixed period after either symptoms stop, or successful treatment has been received. A suspension could be anything from a month, through to indefinitely, and the period may be from the date of remedial treatment rather than from the event. For example, if you had a cardiac arrest and needed an ICD fitting, the suspension would be for 6 months after the implantation rather than from when the cardiac arrest happened.

Regarding your vehicle lease, you can return vehicles early, but my understanding is there’s often an early termination fee involved. Your lease contract should document whether or not you’ll be charged, and how much any fee will be. From a close family member, I know that the fees involved are often substantial, as they’re usually designed to put people off terminating early.

[Mpove in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for your reply, I have not driven my car since my symptoms first started the gp told me not to drive until I speak to a cardiologist so I haven't drove. I sent off the form for the dvla a couple weeks after (when speaking to another gp they told me I should had informed them) n yeah I'm worried about the car hire as I was thinking that's what they would say but will contact them to find out how much ect 🙄 sure It will be extortionate like u say.