Driving licence renewal with MS?

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Pumper_Sue

Pumper_Sue

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
I received my driving licence renewal today with all the bumf regarding diabetes and not a sausage regarding MS. So my question please is do you not have to fill in extra forms with MS every renewal as well?
 
Question - cos I seriously haven't a clue - in what way(s) can MS affect your driving?
 
You’ve probably found this already…

www.mssociety.org.uk

Driving and MS

One of the first questions many people have when they’re diagnosed with MS is: “Will I still be able to drive?” The good news is that most people with MS continue to drive as normal.
www.mssociety.org.uk www.mssociety.org.uk

Which does suggest some sort of interaction with the DVLA:

If you have a driving licence, you have to tell the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) that you have been diagnosed with MS.They will assess your fitness to drive using the information you provide, and they may ask you to have a medical examination or a driving assessment

Looks like this page has a form to fill in

www.gov.uk

Multiple sclerosis and driving

You must tell DVLA if you have multiple sclerosis - download the correct form to let them know
www.gov.uk www.gov.uk
 
@everydayupsanddowns the DVLA know I have MS as told them 3 years ago and it took them 12 weeks to return my licence. There was a shed load of forms to fill in, nothing at all this time except the diabetes forms. Hence the question I asked.

@trophywench MS can be very debilitating for some people after all it is a neurological condition, MS can also affect your vision with optic neuritis. It can also affect the speed in which you think and move. I'm fairly lucky in that I do not have major problems but others are severely disabled so need adapted cars and only allowed to drive with the adaptions.
 
Pumper_Sue said:
@everydayupsanddowns the DVLA know I have MS as told them 3 years ago and it took them 12 weeks to return my licence. There was a shed load of forms to fill in, nothing at all this time except the diabetes forms. Hence the question I asked
Click to expand...

Does seem odd that you don’t have to update the forms/information as part of the renewal doesn’t it
 
I hope you are luckier than I was! I’ve had T1 for 71 years, no diabetic problems. Secondary MS for 45years. At 70 it was my three year renewal date so and I was asked to do Fit to drive test. Much bigger car than the car I drive, faulty windscreen wipers. Nerve wracking with two other people in the car! I was failed! I wasn’t told what failed on, obviously something they saw. I had to accept it because an appeal would have meant a court hearing, which I know would have been horrendous for me. I miss being able to just go out just locally, it is very hilly where I live in Portishead, so walking wth my rollater some days with MS is very difficult! Moan over, doing my best!
 
coocoohibi said:
I hope you are luckier than I was! I’ve had T1 for 71 years, no diabetic problems. Secondary MS for 45years. At 70 it was my three year renewal date so and I was asked to do Fit to drive test. Much bigger car than the car I drive, faulty windscreen wipers. Nerve wracking with two other people in the car! I was failed! I wasn’t told what failed on, obviously something they saw. I had to accept it because an appeal would have meant a court hearing, which I know would have been horrendous for me. I miss being able to just go out just locally, it is very hilly where I live in Portishead, so walking wth my rollater some days with MS is very difficult! Moan over, doing my best!
Click to expand...
Hopefully I wont have a fit to drive test, do you think it was one of the boxes you ticked that held up a red flag to them?

I was amazed no forms to fill in so assumed it was an oversight as can not get through to the dvla, MS society had no idea, my nurse didn't return my call, consultant's sec had no idea and neither did her colleagues. So I just down loaded the lot and sent them in.
Pity you didn't chase it up, but can understand why you didn't as stress is not a good friend to anyone with MS. :(
 
Hi Sue,
I think it was because, unfortunately it just coincided with the three yearly application of my licence. I always put my diabetes and MS on all the new application forms, so nothing new there. Maybe my age and my two medical conditions made them think that I should be checked out. Maybe it was just because I fitted in to one of their statistics at the time! I try not to feel bitter, but I see a lot of bad drivers, and I wasn’t bad! I have been driving since I was twenty three with a clean record grrrr! Ah well, as you say, the stress of having to take it to court, which I would have had to do, would have been bad for MS and diabetes. I also have had thyroid cancer and am still on medication after having it removed! Who knows, they might have seen something which I obviously wasn’t aware of, so at least I am not going to hurt anyone else! I’m thinking of getting a mobility scooter, a pavement one
Keep well and thanks for replying.x
 
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