Icd driving

[Rayranson]

The icd I had put in over 3 years ago gave me a shock in September 2023 .I stopped driving and returned my licence to dvla .I reapplied after 6 months but have now been waiting a further 3 months and still have no licence. Has anyone else had the same problem?

[Lezzers]

Hi Ray

Did you surrender your licence or was it revoked? Have you tried contacting the DVLA to ask about the delay, it could be they're waiting for medical evidence from your consultant. We found the DVLA medical team incredibly helpful when my husband was reapplying for his licence after having had a VT storm and then his ICD firing after an emergency ablation.

[Rayranson in reply to Lezzers]

I've been in touch with dvla many times now they said consultant report was put on their system on 5 May then I rang 3 weeks later and said the report was put on the system on 9 June I've even sent an email to complaints 7 days ago and had no explanation or response

[Lezzers in reply to Rayranson]

I assume your licence was revoked rather than surrendered?

[RufusScamp]

A friend is having a similar problem. Her consultant cleared her to drive again nearly a year ago, but she is doing regular battles with DVLA to get her licence back.

[Lezzers in reply to RufusScamp]

If your friend surrendered her licence and her consultant has confirmed she can drive, your friend should be able to drive under section 88 of the road traffic act pending the return of her licence, BUT, you can only do that if your licence was surrendered not if it was revoked.

[Chinkoflight]

Hi Ray, I had an ICD fitted in March following an SCA linked to a left ventricular tachycardia. This was an out of the blue event. The device was faulty from the first day giving random shocks, unnecessary pacing and a displaced lead was the cause. A revision operation couldn't take place until May Ist, the offending lead was switched off pending this. On advice from this forum I voluntarily surrendered my licence the day after the first implant on the grounds this makes it easier to re-apply for the return at six months. I had an extended stay in hospital from the event in January because of backlogs and access to tests etc and was monitored throughout and had no repeat events. I thought reasonably I could apply the six months from this date but resigned if the DVLA said 6 months from the fitting of the box in March. I was told to send in a letter and forms 8 weeks in advance of the date to give time for reports etc. I had given all the information, so imagine my surprise that instead of being reasonable they replied with a terse letter revoking my licence and stating I had to wait 6 months before I could even apply to have my licence back. This felt very punitive as if was an offender. So 'my ban' will be 6 months + the bureaucracy time delay and also now a cost too.It's very frustrating as there is no evidence that I am aware of that indicates a raised risk in, in fact quite the opposite I believe as the accident rates for people with ICD's fitted is lower than the general cohort.

I'm not making a criticism of risk culture but it's easy to see how decision making that is risk averse will be overbearing when erring on safety.

[Lezzers in reply to Chinkoflight]

That seems an incredibly harsh decision!! According to the DVLA website if your device delivers inappropriate therapy then it's just one month no driving. I would have thought therapy given by a faulty device/leads would surely be considered 'inappropriate? gov.uk/guidance/cardiovascu...

Is it worth challenging the decision?

[Chinkoflight in reply to Lezzers]

Hi Lezzers, thanks for your reply. It was a shock and they included reference to appeal. I just put the letter away as I couldn't face it, I'm desperately trying to get on the front foot as half the year has gone by since my event. The DVLA team will not be large and I imagine an appeal would be a lengthy process with an uncertain outcome. I have enough of those! I wish an organisation would produce some proper research on our future risk once protected by a device. It can't be that hard as accident and insurance data must be relatively easy to search in these days of AI.

[Lezzers in reply to Chinkoflight]

I totally agree with all that you've said! I really hope you get your licence back soon, it made such a massive difference to my husband's confidence & MH to be able to drive again.

Good luck 🤞

[Marmalade2]

Hi rayranson I had an icd fitted a year ago as a primary precaution when I had it done I was told not to drive for 6 weeks and if at anytime I get a shock I had to report to the necessary people but all I hot told was if a shock happenes I won't be able to drive for another month nothing has been said that I would have to return my licence to dvla I would have to inform them that was about it .

Marmalade

[Lezzers in reply to Marmalade2]

Hi marmalade2

Whoever told you that you won't be able to drive for a month after a shock has got it completely wrong. If your ICD shocks you it's at least 6 months no driving & should your ICD deliver therapy/shock again during that 6 months the clock starts again. Unfortunately that did happen to my husband and he was unable to drive for 9 months.

The DVLA will either revoke your licence or you can surrender it, I would recommend surrendering it as it's easier to get it back/start driving again than if it's been revoked. Although sometimes, depending on the circumstances, the DVLA have been known to revoke your licence even if you have surrendered it!

Hopefully the link below will help

gov.uk/guidance/cardiovascu...

[Marmalade2 in reply to Lezzers]

Thanks for letting me know that letters I will look all that up especially if I have been given wrong info thankyou again 😊

[wishis]

There continues to be huge delays at DVLA. I reappled Feb 2024 and still waiting. Have rung a couple of times. They confirmed consultant report scanned in the system April. They are unable to even confirm when it will be reviewed. Similar forums on epilepsy having same issues. Search these terms :

Driven to despair

Parliamentary and health service ombudsman

It is very frustrating and limiting, as well as causing an issue if need to look for a new job with poor public transport.

[EmmJayTea]

Hello. I feel your pain! I received device therapy last October and am now in the bureaucracy queue, waiting to get my license back. I voluntarily surrendered mine after the ICD was fitted last year. My "no driving" period was extended due to the event in October.

My application went in in April. My consultant sent all her stuff back mid-May with a resounding thumbs up.

The Section 88 thing is worth exploring, but it only applies if you surrendered voluntarily. However, you'll probably need to go through a specialist insurance broker who has the time to understand what Section 88 actually is. The big name online insurance brokers just don't want to know (in their eyes: More time arranging = less profit).

Good luck and please feel free to vent here if it helps. Many of us are, or have been, on a similar journey. 🙂

[Lezzers in reply to EmmJayTea]

My husband seems to have had a completely different experience thankfully. He surrendered his licence in January 2023 due to a VT storm which resulted in loss of consciousness several times. Like you he had another event 3 months later so the 6 months started again. If you have surrendered your licence you can start the reapplication for it 2 months before the 'no driving' time is up. It only took an additional 2 months to get his licence back but he was driving under section 88 for those 2 months.

You're absolutely right about avoiding the 'on line' insurers, unfortunately the staff read from a sheet so they have no real understanding of insurance. But any insurance broker will be able to help. We approached 3 brokers, one didn't understand section 88, one quoted but was shockingly expensive but that was due to insurance prices having increased massively. The last quote which my husband took up was from an insurance broker he'd used before, all wanted they wanted to know was what he would do if he had to ' produce his licence' for any reason. My husband said he'd produce a hard copy of the section 88 rules & copies of the forms that had been completed, returned & received by the DVLA. The broker was happy about this and quote was given & accepted. Ps: as the DVLA have to have the paperwork before you can drive my husband sent his forms back by recorded delivery so he was able to check when they'd received it.

[EmmJayTea in reply to Lezzers]

Thanks for the reminder of your husband's experience Lezzers . 🙏 Your advice has been particularly helpful throughout this rather surreal journey.

[Lezzers in reply to EmmJayTea]

It is a very surreal journey unfortunately. I'm particularly on the DVLA issue at the moment as there's a possibility my husband may have another lead fitted to his ICD so have been checking to see what the 'no driving' period is!! The DVLA website says it's one month & no need to send his licence back 🤞

[EmmJayTea in reply to Lezzers]

Ooh , definitely🤞. I hope it all goes well!

[Lezzers in reply to EmmJayTea]

Thank you. He's having a consultation with his EP in August at 8am!!😳 Fortunately it's a telephone appt as the hospital is a 2 hours drive away!

[Driver11]

When I had my first CA I returned license and reapplied after 6 months I also called and spoke to a guy who said your license is only invalid for the 6 months and you can legally drive even though you don't have the document

I suggest calling them

[Chinkoflight in reply to Driver11]

Hi Driver 11, Who do you call?

[Driver11 in reply to Driver11]

I called the DVLA Swansea

[Bramble2000]

I went through a reassessment for my license at Christmas. It took over three months to get sorted with loads of forms, phonecalls and aggro.

[Helpinghands1]

Hi. So sorry to hear this. We are in the process of applying now. We sent it back the day after his 6 months was up (6 June) we waited until yesterday and chased it up and they said it is in process but shouldn’t be long.

I went to collect the paperwork from the consultant and We sent all the paperwork by recorded delivery so all the paperwork went in together.

Sometimes it’s a delay with consultants ect

You can log in to see the process of your licence online.

Give them a ring on 0300 790 6806

Hope you get some results soon

[DaveTR]

I received a shock from my ICD in January '24 and have just reapplied for my driving licence.

I know there is a few factors that can cause delay's.

I called DVLA today and they confirmed the application has been received and on the sytem. I will now call regularly for progress updates. If they are waiting for documents to be returned from the hospital I will contact my consultant's secretary to move it along.

I used to trust in the processes but these days everything seems to be broken and things are only resolved if I keep on top of them unfortunately.

[Jedi14]

Do you think it was a mistake to send your licence back so quickly?

[Rayranson in reply to Jedi14]

Hi I was told by my hospital to inform dvla if you don't then your driving illegally and your insurance is void

[Jedi14 in reply to Jedi14]

What I meant to say was that , you could have just stopped driving at the time?

[Rayranson in reply to Jedi14]

Unfortunately you can't just stop driving then start after 6 months as soon as you inform dvla your licence is revoked

[EmmJayTea]

Further to my reply above, I actually received a letter from DVLA yesterday. There was much excitement as I opened the envelope. Even the dogs were eagerly staring at me. Could this be the result of my re-application?

Not quite.

It turns out that my consultant hadn't filled in the forms properly and missed a section out. The DVLA letter was an update to say that they have written to my consultant again.

In short: This is going to be an even longer wait.🙄

[wishis in reply to EmmJayTea]

Exactly same here with DVLA having had the form for 3 to4 months. Shame there is no way to have a quick initial check to ensure all questions completed. Sure it is more complex than that, but who knows

[Rayranson in reply to wishis]

Try putting in a complaint to dvla complaint department you can e mail them I got my licence back 4 weeks after I complained good luck