DVLA

[Hetty56]

The DVLA revoked Sam's licence for 6 months after his TBI in January. Initially they said they were revoking it from 24th April (3 months after his accident!) but we wrote and said that although he accepted their decision, by revoking his licence from April they were in effect banning him for 9 months. They agreed with us and send him a licence application form. This was returned to them in June and his final appointment at Addenbrookes was on 6 August. Addenbrookes were really pleased with his progress and said there's no reason at all why he shouldn't start driving again. They completed the questionnaire sent to them by DVLA telling them there were no concerns, and his GP has done the same. DVLA confirmed they'd received the letters by 22 August but there's still no sign of his licence. Sam's called them on 2 or 3 occasions and the only answer he gets is that it hasn't yet been reviewed. Any advice on how to speed them up? I know everyone's going to say that in the grand scheme of things he hasn't actually had a long wait but he's itching to get back to normal and stop having to depend on taxis to get to work (his only option - no buses) which are, incidentally, being funded to the tune of £270 a week by the Government (taxpayers money!)

[Lazuli]

The DVLA took a really long time to respond after my daughter took her third driving assessment and was deemed safe to drive. She had documents from various professionals to back this up. She called about 3 times and they kept telling her “ We have everything we need. We will contact you. Don’t phone us.” In the end her father wrote to the MP and within days she had confirmation from the DVLA with her driving licence following a week later.

[Elkay_1954]

I let the DVLA know about my son’s accident (as you must do) and, from the research that I did at that time, I believed that it would be a year after the accident date before he would even be looked at. DVLA eventually gathered all the necessary info from specialists (my son also has Type 1 Diabetes just to complicate further) and allowed him to start driving again. We took a slow journey back into driving - he certainly didn’t just get back in the car - we taught him again really. This was so that he felt confident and we felt that he was safe (which is the main issue).

Yes, it was quite a long and drawn out process but personally, we were never going to rush it.

Good luck to you and your son.

X

[Tim_I_am]

Unfortunately they take a long time to give it back. Luckily my doctor advised me to send in two months early & I got my car licence back just b4 the 6 months although dated until the day after. It’s hard waiting so long but I found there is no way of rushing them at all. I’m 18months down the line following my tbi, and I still have to go through it all over again to get my hgv licence back which I had to surrender for two years. I hope it comes back soon, just driving my car again changed my life.

[Daisyyy]

I had this with the DVLA the only advice i can give is just keep ringing them. They refused my application until my doctor wrote to them which cost me but i was the same dying for my license back. I just kept harrassing them and in the end i wanted it to be escalated to someone higher as they just kept fobbing me off and then from that point things started moving and i got my license back. I hope this helps.

Reply

[Hetty56]

Thank you for your responses. It seems the only way is to keep on at them. How did you go about getting the matter escalated Daisyyy? Incidentally Sam has now written to our MP so fingers crossed for a reply

[Daisyyy in reply to Hetty56]

I wanted to speak with a manager as i felt they just kept fobbing me off and then every other day i was ringing and wanting to no progress or what stage my application was at. Just keep at them and fingers crossed and a hope you get it soon its just such a slow process and it unfortunately always takes longer than it should. Keep at them though

[Mikey48]

Mine took 10 months after my SAH.

[magdolna]

As i recall it may take several weeks for DVLA to process the application so just give it a few weeks and then contact them again.

[cat3]

I was accused of 'misremembering' my experience of being cleared for driving after a brain haemorrhage ! ………….either that or there 'must've been some mistake by DVLA'. After seeing subsequent reports on Headway I see it was pretty unusual……...

All patients with brain injury were given a DVLA (B1) form to sign in hospital declaring their condition, and presumed unfitness to drive, as soon as they were out of ICU and sufficiently alert ; this was forwarded to DVLA.

At my first follow-up appointment 3 months on from discharge (5 months total since admission) my surgeon cleared me for driving and suggested I phone DVLA to give them my particulars and to pass on his name and his clearance.

DVLA thanked me for informing them and wished me well. When I commented that I'd expected a more complicated procedure, the officer assured me that a medical assessment from a consultant surgeon carried all weight necessary for clearance. At no time was I asked to surrender my licence.

I'm guessing that, since then, cutbacks might have slowed things down ? I hope Sam will be back behind the wheel before too long Hetty ; I remember the frustration after only 3 months. Keep phoning until they just want you leave them alone ! Cat x

[HavingAlook1]

Wow I was lucky as no one said nothing to me about driving.

Been 9 years now.

[moo196 in reply to HavingAlook1]

If you are driving without having declared it your insurance is likely to be invalid.

[HavingAlook1 in reply to moo196]

At the time I didn’t even think about declaring nothing.

Only just thought about it now

[moo196]

Addenbrookes were great with my issues and paperwork. Unfortunately DVLA did take their own sweet time. Keep ringing them!

[Hetty56]

We had a result this week - thank goodness. We contacted our local MP (as one of you lovely people said they'd done) and, oddly enough, received a long letter of apology from DVLA and Sam's new licence, in less than a week!