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DVLA and hypos

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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
L

Landymech

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hello, I'm a type 1 diabetic for over 30 years, average control of it. My driving licence was revoked by DVLA due to the independent diabetic consultant advised that I had had 2 episodes of hypoglycemia during the 3 months of monitoring. These 2 episodes were early evening after an afternoon nap. On waking up I recognised the symptoms and reacted with lucozade drink. Checked my sugar levels which were 2.9 the other 3.6, low I know but on waking up I reacted accordingly on my own, after the lucozade I immediately had food to keep it level. I told the consultant this and the findings sent to DVLA. I was applying for my C1 licence (small truck and large van) weeks and months passed. Then a letter from DVLA revoking me from driving. My GP has tried supporting me writing letters saying I am fully aware of severe hypoglycemia but DVLA aren't having any of it. They sa I am have 'reduced awareness of a hypoglycemia event' with a significant foreseeable increased risk of severe hypoglycemia' I now need to reply with further evidence ie 3 months of monitoring to suggest the findings from the consultant report is no longer applicable.
Anyone had this and overcome it all? I'm about to lose my job then probably my house and sanity. Any help out there?
 
Welcome, am sorry unable to help with your query! I am sure someone who will be able to help!
 
Launch an immediate appeal. I may be wrong on this but am pretty certain that if you have not had hypo's requiring assistance from anybody else then they cannot take your license off you. You really need to challenge them though since they only seem to listen to the people who don't just roll over and give in. If you also have your doctor 'onside' then that should also help. I once had a driving license withdrawn after a road accident caused by hypoglycemia. I did get it back though after only 2 weeks. This involved me applying lots and lots and lots of pressure. I hope you find a solution soon 😉
 
Not due to diabetes, but sleep apnea notified DVLA and had the letter saying my licence had been revoked. It took me over 12 months to get it back even though I went private and bought the required equipment to treat it within a few days of diagnosis. DVLA is very random in their decision making as other friends have the same illness and got to keep their licence and were diagnosed within a close time period as myself.

They would not listen until the hospital showed that the treatment had worked for the minimum of 12 months, I then had it restricted later on to a 12 monthly licence and had categories removed off my entitlement list of vehicles I could drive. Another 12 months of having to go through their wait and see period, eventually got the restriction removed, but did not get the vehicle entitlements re-added :(

Does your meter have software that allows you to download and print out reports showing your levels and history? Don't know if it's possible to appeal their decision these days as it may be your only option and to provide the documentation showing what you have being like in your levels and if their doctors panel are accessible to a face to face meeting.

Due to my hypos all self caught with no intervention of others to overcome them, I almost lost another licence, as I needed a doctors report and the doc put in the report that I had suffered hypos and did not include that they were self treated and I was hypo aware. This time I was lucky as had a meeting with the person dealing with the licence accepted what I said.
 
Sounds like a misunderstanding...........

You are not allowed more than one sever hypo requiring assistance from someone else...

So its not your fault, but the doctors....

I have hypos all the time, but I don't share them with my consultant...

I would be going back to the clinic and getting the individual who contacted the DVLA in the first place to retract their findings...
 
Landymech said:
Anyone had this and overcome it all? I'm about to lose my job then probably my house and sanity. Any help out there?
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What you need is two meters if you feel hypo then use your hypo meter if fine then use your usual meter 🙂
 
Owen said:
That would be completely unethical but a good idea.
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May I point out DVLA are unethical in their decision making 😉
 
A very unethical thing to do which I absolutely do not recommend you do under any circumstances and I do not condone is to manipulate the dates on your blood test meter. By doing so you could effectively make 1 week of intensive blood testing appear to be 12 months merely by changing dates and times every time you test. I only point this out to advise all of you to never actually try it for it would obviously be wrong to try and cheat DVLA who are a wonderful, perfectly ethical, straight, stand up organisation 😉
 
Yes. Furthermore, suggesting that as a means of deceiving the DVLA is an offence, so I suggest you delete the post. I've seen cases where people with epilepsy have told the DVLA they have only had night time fits, and their GP, but hospital records proved otherwise. Deep trouble, because any motoring offence then includes licence and insurance offences.
 
If DVLA had seen one of my meters they would of had a dickie fit, as it randomly reset itself to the default production time setting. Even the doc refused to accept the meters history of results and sods law I never spotted the time errors until a good few results later on.
 
mikeyB said:
Yes. Furthermore, suggesting that as a means of deceiving the DVLA is an offence, so I suggest you delete the post. I've seen cases where people with epilepsy have told the DVLA they have only had night time fits, and their GP, but hospital records proved otherwise. Deep trouble, because any motoring offence then includes licence and insurance offences.
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In @Diabeticliberty s defence, he is clearly telling the OP not to do this.
 
mikeyB said:
Yes. Furthermore, suggesting that as a means of deceiving the DVLA is an offence, so I suggest you delete the post. I've seen cases where people with epilepsy have told the DVLA they have only had night time fits, and their GP, but hospital records proved otherwise. Deep trouble, because any motoring offence then includes licence and insurance offences.
Click to expand...


DVLA have been hauled over the coals on a number of occasions in the past 18 months for applying blanket rules and not treating individual drivers as individuals. When the head of the agency was questioned he said 'We always learn from our mistakes' clearly this does not apply in Landymech's case because they are breaking their own rules AGAIN by removing someone's license and potentially their livelihood when clearly they fully recognise hypo symptoms and self treat. Did you not read that Doctor Zhivago? In any case I was only serving to highlight the importance of ensuring that blood test meters are correctly timed and dated. Pav has already suggested that his meter does its own thing and changes dates and times at will which kind of fortifies the point I have attempted to make. I will therefore not remove the post since to do so would suggest that I was trying to infer someone uses illegal means to keep hold of their driving licence, car and job 😉
 
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The DVLA rules clearly state that they only need to be informed if you have had two or more hypos in a 12 month period where you have required assistance. This is clearly not the case and you should certainly appeal. Your doctor did not even need to tell them about the hypos you had had as you dealt with them effectively yourself. As Northerner says, speak to DUK about how best to take the appeal forward and a written copy of the rules, so you can quote them back at the DVLA. This is not acceptable.
Please let us know how you get on.
 
Have the DVLA got confused between your normal licence, and your application for C1, which may need a higher standard ( assume this is where your 3 months records come in, I don't know what the hypo situation is for that category, I'm afraid)
 
Robin said:
Have the DVLA got confused between your normal licence, and your application for C1, which may need a higher standard ( assume this is where your 3 months records come in, I don't know what the hypo situation is for that category, I'm afraid)
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When I applied for a C1 they were treated separately. Having said this my normal license was delayed as they played silly whilst processing my C1 application. In the end I had to just accept the normal license and forgo the C1 as the police were hounding me as they wanted to award me with some lovely penalty points for singing at the wheel of my car while driving*



* I was actually speeding but please don't tell the fuzz 😛
 
mikeyB said:
I was referring to Pumper Sue's post
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Doctor Atlarge you are quite an alchemist. Your ability to transform hypocrisy into diplomacy would have had you burned at the stake for sorcery 500 years ago 😛
 
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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
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