hi just wondering if anyone with hemonopia has returned to driving again through exceptional circumstances thank you
hemonopia driving again?: hi just... - Different Strokes
hemonopia driving again?
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Ellie-
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Hi Ellie,
I'm 'going through the process'. I saw my doctor a couple of weeks ago (May2023) to complete the DVLA questionnaire and confirm their criteria required has been met to allow me to apply for my license back under exceptional circumstance. The doc has returned the paperwork and I'm waiting for next steps. I'd be interested to know next steps are, I assume DVLA will want to see me/arrange further tests etc. I've no idea how long this will take but I need to know one way or the other if I will ever drive again and what my options might be. I've researched and have come up with very little. I'd appreciate any info anyone thats been through this also.
hiHHGooner thank you for your reply please let me know how you get on it would give me so much hope that I might be able to drive again too!
I went to the mobility centre to speak to them about it, I they said I DO qualify for exceptional circumstances. Which is good. so far I I have managed to get a letter from my consultant and an x2 OT s from the assessment centre to say I am acognitively fine and I have no other physical issues except my vision of course. They also said that I should be given the chance to have a driving assessment But where I haven’t driven for three years that I be allowed a couple of practise sessions first before the actual assessment begins. They did tell me I would only get one shot at the assessment though.
Think they willDo some cognitive tests and I think they will put you on a driving rig which is like a practise car before the put you in a real car. I hope that makes sense. and will need to tell the dvla about that too, so I know this may take a while! How do you feel about driving again? I’m sending lots of luck your way please keep me updated. I have really struggled to fine someone who is doing this so that’s great to find you.
The cognitive assessment if you are assessed as needing it, is known as the Rookwood Driving Battery. You may have to prove arm and leg strength on pedals and steering wheel set up in the interview room. Practice drawing a perfect circle for a clock with an accurate centre point; you will be asked to draw the hands at a certain time. The occupational therapist will look for any distortion of the drawing on the side that has the noticeable hemianopia. Braking timing is in a stationary car with brake lights facing you in front of the bonnet. Your reaction time will be measured on a laptop. If you have an assessment, it's bessed to treat the ADI and occupational therapist as you would customs in a foreign airport. Be polite, but no self-effacing humour.
Hijohn_boy_92 thank you so much for your reply that's really helpful, it's sounds like you are doing everything you can, please let me know how it goes. The mobility centre said I would only get one chance to go through the exceptional circumstances route were you told that too? Have you done the assessment then already?
The Mobility centre are getting confused with legislation where 16 year olds with certain disabilities can have a PDAL progressing to a provisional licence to drive a car. If they fail that, they are not allowed another attempt. If you are a qualified Group 1 (car and motorcycle) driver and your licence is revoked due to a medical issue, you can apply at twelve months for a PDAL in what is termed an "exceptional case". There is nothing that I've seen in legislation that says an exceptional case driver cannot reapply if they fail the driving part of the assessment. My emails with DVLA Licensing Policy on the subject essentially confirm that you can reapply. However, DVLA block reapplication by requiring that your visual field returns to that of a normally sighted person, but have no evidence to say that is possible after 12 months. The recent Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report on the DVLA backlog, published my written evidence where I explained how DVLA were delaying and blocking reapplication. The PAC report states: "... the DVLA’s poor service discriminates against its more vulnerable customers."
Legislation and the Vision Panel foresaw that revoked drivers who had not driven for 12 months and maybe years, would require time for refresher lessons before the assessment. DVLA refused to allow that time as the legislation did not require the driving instructor to be an ADI. That persisted until February 2020 but the policy was not backdated. That meant prior to February 2020, you were assessed in an unfamiliar car on an unfamiliar route of urban and busy dual carriageways not having driven in my case for 18 months.
I failed the assessment even though at one point I was required to reverse in a narrow road with cars either side, back to a blind tee junction on a minor road. I achieved that without mishap. Bear in mind that even if the driving assessor and occupational therapist say that your driving is OK, DVLA may still keep the licence revoked. I looked at a sample of 12,820 drivers whose Group 1 licence was revoked or refused due to the visual field being less than 120 degrees. Of those, 283 were assessed as exceptional cases and, 117 regained their licence although some of these would be through the Courts.
The DVLA issued a revised list of eye conditions that would require drivers to refer to the DVLA. The College of Optometrists wrote an open letter pointing out the list had errors: the list is now being rewritten with the help of the Vision Panel.
Hijohn-boy-92 Thank you so much for your reply this makes things a little clearer for me, I think it's the not knowing sometimes which makes it harder to deal with, driving was so important to me, access to work and indepence as you know too well, I hope it happens for you I really do. My stroke was in 2020 from a cartroid tear blocking the artery resulting in left side Hemonopia, please let me know what happens.
Hi Ellie, quick update, following my GP meeting about 5 weeks ago, I received an invitation from DVLA yesterday to apply for my provisional license and prepare for an on-road driving assessment within 4 months. Included was a D1 license request form, a list of assessment centres and a declaration to agree to have professional tuition prior to the assessment by a qualified driver with dual controls. Happy for the opportunity to get back behind the wheel, even if its with L plates and an instructor until the assessment.
Hi HH Gooner, that’s excellent news I’m really happy for you wishing you lots of luck, that’s great they have given you some practice time first before the assessment, think my sight loss is more than you I have half of each eye on left side missing, but yours doesn’t sound as much. Please let me know how it goes keeping everything crossed for you
Hi HHGooner just wondering how your driving lessons are going and how you were feeling about the assessment? Hope you don't mind me asking, I was going through some old posts and remembered our conversation. Thank you
Hi Ellie, I hope your well ? I've had my provisional license back about 4 weeks, I've been driving at every opportunity (3 or 4 x 5 mile journeys) a week whenever I can convince a driver to go with me. I've also had 3 x 2 hour 'lessons' in the last 3 weeks driving on all types of road and traffic conditions. I've applied for an assessment date so I'm waiting for that. I knew I missed driving and the freedom it brings but now that I am back on the road, I've been much happier apparently. Its had more of an impact than even I realised. The lessons have been going very well, my instructor is only working on a couple of bad habits I've picked up but says she cant see any reason at all why I wouldnt pass the assessment. I'm very wary something might go wrong and I wont pass so trying not to build my hopes up too much but I've been driving for over 30 years so not worried from a driving aspect. The assessment is based on my ability to drive safely and interact with other drivers, its not a driving test so other than reading number plates from 20 meters and obeying the rules, doesnt have the usual test criteria like parallel parking or emergency stops that can trip learners up. The only downside to the assessment is once completed, pass or fail, my provisional will be handed over on the day and I wait for the outcome. My friends who have been driving with me have all said they felt safe and wouldnt know anything was wrong if they didnt know. Its been 3 years, 6 months since I stopped driving, I really wish I'd pushed a bit earlier to get my license back but really glad I'm doing it now.
If you have any questions about the process please let me know, I have to say after Covid, the strikes and poor responses, DVLA Medical really seem to be on the case for my recent activities.
Best Wishes
Lee.
HHGooner that’s really great news I am really happy for you that you have started the provisional driving again it sounds like you are doing so well quite long distances as well. Do you feel like you have any blind spots well driving or feel like you need to scan more? My sight loss is half of each eye so need to can a fair bit. Also did they say you only get one chance to you? Thank you so much for replying it’s much appreciated, let me know how things go sending lots of luck to you. Take care
Ellie, the short answer is no, but there may be a change towards the end of this year. Until February 2020, DVLA would not provide time in a provisional disability assessment licence (PDAL) to have refresher driving lessons before an assessment, even though the law envisaged it. I have hemianopia with macula sparing. My application for a PDAL was turned down last year as the DVLA require my visual field to be the same as a person with normal sight, even though expert opinion says that it is "very unlikely" that normal vision will return twelve months after the stroke that caused hemianopia (my stroke was in 2016). My application was supported by two GPs who know me, and my certification to use commercial hedgecutters and strimmers in open public parks (proof of functional adaption as there isn't a clinical test for requirement). I also had supporting evidence from a prominent expert in visual disability caused by stroke. Unless things have changed, the DVLA Medical Group dealing with vision, does not employ an Opthalmist. Case workers are non-medical relying on written instructions. Look on line at Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) case P-001082 report to get a flavour of the DVLA and visual disability. In my case, the DVLA have reinterpreted Government published guidance for medical professionals; my case is currently with the PHSO. The Secretary of State for Transport's Honorary Medical Advisory Panel on driving and visual disorders (Vision Panel) were recently joined by two academic Opthalmists who are well versed in stroke related visual disability. That said, the DVLA have ignored the Vision Panel in the past.
john-boy-92 thank you so much for your reply and taking the time to give me this information, sorry it’s taking so long to reply and say thanks I thought I had already. I haven’t plucked up the courage To apply to the dvla yet but maybe in the future I will, not sure if I feel confident enough to get behind the wheel again although I would dearly love my independence back after my stroke, I wish you all the very best and will keep everthing crossed for you please let me know if you have any updates with the driving I would be interested to know! Best wishes
Hi Ellie. My complaint about the DVLA is with the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) - it's been about a year - and compounded by the PHSO senior caseworker for my complaint being on sick leave since early June. My written evidence to the Public Accounts Committee on the DVLA backlog was published as a link within the report. Interestingly, the Committee said that the DVLA's treatment of people with medical conditions may be discrimination. The DVLA have a current call for evidence on the suitability of legislation for those of us with medical conditions. I will be submitting my views, and I've sent a link to influential medical academics who specialise in stroke related conditions such as vision. I find it stange to put it mildly, that the DVLA / DVLA Medical Group do not employ a consultant Opthalmologist, yet people can lose their licence, employment, and social life based on decisions by the DVLA.
Hi john-boy-92 thank you for your reply it sound like you are a very determined person and sound like you are doing brilliantly with this, it must be so frustrating for you on top of dealing with the sight issues, please if you can keep me updated when you hear back from them, I hope it's soon. Do you feel like you would feel confident driving? How did you feel when you did the assessment? My worry was people or cars appearing from my left without warning. Many thanks
Before the assessment, I attended a driving course for teenagers about to take their driving test. It was intended to provide the finishing touches. The event used the race track at Castle Coombe, but set up with all the parking spaces, mini-roundabouts etc that you would meet on a driving test. Although I hadn't driven for 18 months, I didn't put a foot wrong. During my assessment, the driving instructor must have taken me off the set route, as he asked me to pull in ahead, but the area had a chain across the entrance. The occupational therapist was happy for me to be given training but the driving instructor (who was not medically trained) said, "I've neever seen a [Esterman] chart like it, and it would cause your family too much stress if you had training". The DVLA medical licensing section said I could reapply, but the non-medically trained complaints section say that I must have the visual field of someone with normal vision. The DVLA complaints section admit they have no evidence for a visual field returning to normal after 12 months, and have ignored the written evidence of an academic orthoptist who is a member of the expert panel advising the DVLA on vision and driving issues.
Some of the questions in the current DVLA Call for Evidence ask whether legislation should note changes in on-board devices when it comes to drivers with medical issues. I suspect the question relates to autonomous cars. However, I've been in a passenger in a car with Active Collision Avoidance, when it assessed that we were approaching a stationary car without slowing. It hit the brakes hard for about a second, and then off. The car also has self-parking so it assessess stationary and moving objects to either side. It is an automatic, and everything from lights to wipers operate automatically according to conditions. I think that you and I would be tentative driving it, but that we would be OK. I'll be formulating an answer along those lines when I reply to the Call for Evidence. The UK has awful public transport, shortage of workers and volunteers, and an aging population that needs to get to hospital. It doesn't have the luxury of allowing non-specialist clinicians and non-medical case workers to cause the havoc that they have.
Thank you for your reply, that's sounds good about castle coomb track I might give that a try. It seems unfair to not give people a nother try if the can show vsome kind of change or improvement. I wish you lots of luck and please let me know if you hear anything many thanks
Hi Ellie,
After a couple of months of regular driving lessons to get rid of the rust ( 3 years 6 months of no driving), I took my individual assessment early October which I passed. I received my physical license 3 weeks later, a full license with no restrictions so I am back on the road again. The assessment lasted around 90 minutes and was with 2 accessors, 1 next to me with dual controls and 1 observing from the back seat. The 1st part is held in an office and the assessment itself covers physical movement and muscle strength, cognitive questions and discussion about effects from the stroke (if any) and how you've adapted in general life. The 2nd part is the driving on road, assessing driving skills, interaction with other drivers and general road safety. I hope this helps someone in the future, I personally needed to know whether I would ever be able to drive again and be accessed safe to do so, for that part alone, I'm glad I went through the whole process. Good Luck to anyone reading this in a similar situation 
HHGooner That's fantastic I so happy for you congratulations , sorry couldn't find in your post but what was your sight loss mine I Hemonopia ? Many thanks
Hi Ellie, I have Homonymous hemianopia following a stroke in 2020. Specifically, a blindspot in both eyes, slightly above the centre on the right hand side of my vision. To explain further, if I close either eye and hold my right arm straight out in front, I cannot see my hand (but can see my arm and around my hand). With both eyes open, the blindspot is singular in the same position, which when driving, is actually the right hand windscreen/door pillar in a car so every driver has his blindspot. With both eyes open, the right eye is compensating for the left eye blindspot, something which I only realised was happening recently and now seems obvious. When driving, I'm really conscious, overly using the mirrors and scanning to compensate the blindspot but it doesnt affect the driving or enjoyment.
Thanks for your reply sorry for all the questions. That's a very good explanation of your Hemonopia. My blind spot is the left half of each eye, so maybe a bit more than you? I am so desperate to drive but also so scared if they say no as I know there's only one chance my stroke was in 2020 too. I'm worried about someone appearing from the left with out warning. I think I have just lost all confidence. Many thanks
Hi Ellie, please dont be sorry for any questions, Your original post was around the start of my journey back to driving so I'm always happy to help you or anyone else in a similar situation. It sounds like you have more vision loss than I have but I know you'll have adapted to your condition since your stroke. I understand the confidence concerns, I had the same but after each successful step, your confidence will improve (particularly with the driving lessons), and then you'll know yourself if you're safe (or want) to drive again. I got to the point (after waiting too long) where I felt my life was on hold and had to know one way or another if I would drive again.
Good Luck if you decide to start the process, I'm here if you have any questions I can help with.
Thank you so much, I think this issue with driving is holding me back but I am scared if I don’t pass the assessment it’s a definite no to driving and I would find it hard to let go of that part of my life for good. Anyway I’ll let you know if I get the confidence to go for it. Congratulations on your new found independence bestest wishes
Hi Ellie
I wondered how you were getting on with driving? My situation sounds similar- I have left hemianopia after a brain haemorrhage almost 4 months ago. I can see in the 20 degree part, but not to the 50 degrees on the left side. I know the rules are you can apply for exceptional circumstances after 12 months, and I wondered how strict they are with your vision loss? Basically, if I can show I can compensate (I can see completely to the left if I scan my eyes or turn my head) does this mean I will pass?
How did you initially go about this process? Do you need to see a specialist or just the gp?
I am hoping my loss will improve still but I understand there are no guarantees so I’m just looking for some hope for the future that I will be able to drive again!
Thanks
Hi@yellowduck49 sorry this has happened to you, yes our situation sounds similar. I am no further forward I'm afraid. For me it's been almost four years since my stroke, I spoke to the stroke nurse and asked them to arrange a driving assessment but they said I only get one chance at doing it so be the best you can be. So I decided to give it more time. My sight loss is exactly half of each eye missing- left half. As far as I'm aware as long as you can show you have adapted fully you can drive again I am going to do a driving course for teenagers near me to practice and see how i feel driving again. Four months is very soon I bet you will have more improvement, don't rush it because you vision might return best wishes x
Hi Ellie
Thank you so much for replying! I’m so sorry to hear you are still fighting to be able to drive. Good that you are doing a course to see how you feel too.
Yes I know 4 months is early days for me so I’m trying not to worry about it yet but just interested to see what happens if you get to the exceptional circumstances bit.
I’m also looking into therapies to improve the vision loss- there is such a lack of things out there for us!! Mine is due to the brain bleed and not the optic nerve so there is every chance it could gradually improve- but there is no guidance on any therapies to help! I find it astonishing that there are things out there that can help - e.g. prism glasses - which if allowed (which they are not) could allow people like us to drive safely. I don’t know whether you have looked into anything like this?
Take care and let me know how the driving goes!!
Anna
Hi, no problem at all, I know such a lack of help available for Hemonopia or we are just not told about it. I had to do a lot of searching myself for like Pele lenses which have helped me in busy spaces to navigate people. But unfortunately they aren't allowed in UK. It would be good to speak to your local assesment centre to see what they say. I had a few test eg drawing a clock counting stacked cubes drawing letters and if they think you are ok they take you out on the road for a driving assessment. If you apply for exceptional circumstances then you get four months practice time in a duel control car. Best wishes let me know how it goes best wishes
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