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Dvla C1/c1e

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

mick2173

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
I've been a type 1 diabetic since i was about 18 months old & i'm now 46.
Over the years i've heard rumblings & experienced them relating to the dvla wanting type 1's off the road. I like to keep my C1 catergory every year as you never know when it will come in handy & i also have an old london routemaster bus which falls into this catergory. My license fell for renewal last july/aug & i had all the tests & medicals that go with same old rigmoral every year & past them all with flying colours. The optician says i have no sign of scaring & have perfect eyesight,my consultant is surprised how fit i am for a 46yr old type 1 & my GP nurse says all my figures be it blood,colesterol & blood pressure are all good.
Yet, because i had a hypo at 3am one morning & my partner woke me up with the lucozade back in september, dvla have said i needed help & revoked my C1/C1E . This hypo was small,i drank the lucozade of my own accord even though i didn't actually fetch it & i wasn't anywhere near my vehicle for the next 7hrs ?
Who the hell do the dvla think they are,this is totally wrong as i was asleep.
It wasn't during waking hours yet i've now got to appeal through the magistrates court to try & get it granted for another year,
Has anyone else experienced this witch hunt & who are the best people to turn to ? Do i need legal help ?
Mick
 
Hi Mick

Sadly although car drivers can have 'not more than 1' 'assisted hypos' in the last 12 months, C1 are only allowed Nil. Thems are the published rules.

On the face of it what they have done seems to be correct.

We did hear from someone who had lost their car licence though with 2 night-time hypos and ISTR she got hers back - I'll see if I can find the thread and post a link. She did however have a solicitor.

So - importantly - have you got your hypo warnings back?

I wish they would interpret 'assisted' properly and definitively. DUK have been trying to do just that - does it REALLY class as 'assisted' if you don't need either a 'Hypokit' jab in the bum from your nearest and dearest or a paramedic with a glucose drip? Trouble is, nobody knows.

When will it be 12 months since that hypo? because even if you can't get it back immediately, on the assumption you don't have another before the 12 months is up - you can re-apply again at that time anyway.

I know it's a PITA and you are quite entitled to have a rant BUT they are only doing their job within the guidelines they have. If it was a realtively short time and it didn't cause TOO many probs, you could perhaps save money and risk appealing without a solicitor (and there's nothing to guarantee that you'd get it back straight away or not even with a legal respresentative) and just let the ban run until you are hypo free for the year ....
 
Good luck with this Mick ! I have been T1 a simelar time & the things the EU are making us do :( .
 
Well HOBIE in some ways it's better - not in this case I agree, but if you passed your test after a certain date (1979 was it?) as an IDDM you wouldn't even have your C1 in the first place, nor would you be able to apply for it.

Now, you can apply for it, but it is a separate driving test.

Those with 'grandfather rights' to C1 (diabetes notwithstanding) lose them at age 70, if they wish to keep them they must fill in forms and pay for medicals. Which at our doctors are more expensive than the HGV medicals !


Oh - and I can't find that other thread, and I have checked my other forum too, and it's old one. Sorry Mick.
 
I was on a protest about the new EU rules on Motor bikes ! If you have a bike it has to be serviced buy manufacturer ! (OLD BIKES ?) WHAT HAPPENS TO THE BLOKE who has had his bike for 30years, well well maintained & a classic. Europe is trying to control. What is wrong with MOT ???? 🙄 BS numbers have GONE !! 😱
 
I would hardly call your wife fetching Lucozade an 'assist'. The way that I understand it, an assist is if you're unconcious, or bordering on being and unable to take action yourself to rectify the situation.
Many a time if I go a little low my wife will get my Lucozade or Jelly Babies for me, if this was the case I'd have been off the road years ago. I think that you've possibly read into what they're asking too literally, and unfortunately it's cost you. With this in mind, if I were you I'd appeal ASAP.
 
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I'd make Diabetes UK aware of your issue - they will have greater clout in flighting the new regulations if they have more information about how they are affecting people in the real world. Careline 0845 120 2960, open Monday?Friday, 9am?5pm.

Or email (England, Wales & Northern Ireland): careline@diabetes.org.uk

Or if you are in Scotland: carelinescotland@diabetes.org.uk
 
Hi Mick,
The main problem here is you told the DVLA. I can not understand why anyone tells the DVLA they had a hypo in the night and the wife/husband passed the glucose.
If you need injecting with glucogon or the paramedics then yep fine it will be on your records

What it boils down to is direct discrimination to married couples or anyone co habitatiing.
I live on my own so no one would know how bad a hypo was unless I didn't surface for a month of Sundays.
 
it is all down to interpretation, i would challenge it on the grounds that this is a new rule that had been brought in, that you havent had any hypos in day that needed help and that you wouldnt be driving asleep! we as type one diabetics need someone like you who has fallen victim to this lunacy to challenge it through the courts.
 
Did you need assistance or was the wife just helping out.............you trated yourself, thats the critical point here, however it may be too late.......

I think you can appeal, dont know much about that process though........
 
Hi Mick. Welcome 🙂

You do say that your wife woke you when you had the hypo. That could be the part that lost you the licence.

To be fair to the eu, I think they forced the uk to allow type 1s to apply for c1 in line with Europe. But then we have to follow the same rules on the rest. Dvla have messed that part up but are now trying to put it right.

Good luck.

Rob
 
I think that you lose all categories apart from class1 (categories A and B), as soon as you become medically restricted. I know that I did, and that was without any reported hypos. It is then up to you to apply for any further categories to be added, and proving that you are medically fit.
These are not new EU rules, but DVLA rules that have always been in place.
 
My license is up for renewal this August. I am now retired drive my MINI and ride my 1976 Honda 400/4. At my diabetic review I was asked how many night time hypos I have had in last six months. I explained that I was aware where this might lead (to DVLAs doorstep) and replied none, as I hadnt had any. The nurse agreed that this could be a minefield and lately I am very careful with my nighttime insulin amount as one false move could ban me for life.
 
Good luck with the appeal. I can't imagine what it would be like to not be able to drive as it would take away your independance, and I for one would not be able to get to work.

Fingers crossed it all works out for you.
 
this does sound ridiculous....if our other halves offer to help, do we have to 'race' them to the lucozade so they don't get there first and 'help' us??!! 😱

I have to confess, I wouldn't have disclosed that as a hypo needing assistance on my form.

Hopefully this will just be looked at in the situation it actually was and you'll get the category back.

Like Trophy said, if you lived alone, you'd have treated it yourself and no ambulance was called etc so I'd say it should be fine.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.
 
there is some info in the latest issue of balance about the dvla doing a consultation on changing this which i feel will add more weight to your appeal, please keep us updated on it
 
Thanks to everyone for responding to this & offering advice. I myself didn't tell the dvla of the hypo my consultant did during my yearly check. She did warn me about what not to say after i'd mentioned it but it appears she wrote it down anyway !
I agree that as i wasn't driving,it wasn't during waking hours,& the confusion over what is an assist i feel i've been harshly treated. I don't actually drive 7.5t but want it for my preservation project in the next few years. I've been renewing this license for years now & it always takes longer & longer to happen & like it or not as diabetics we are disciminated against.
I know we have a medical condition but at least we have tests etc throughout the year,other drivers don't.
 
Dvla/c1

Hi, Just an update on what has happened.
I've spoken to people including my GP & the diabetic nurse who in turn showed me the letter they had recieved from the dvla. It doesn't go into detail about what actually happened but more about their decision.
Advice from everyone seems to be don't fight it as the dvla have a very broad agenda which covers them for almost anything. The way it's worded a type 1 diabetic has no chance in court even if your hypo is during sleeping hours.
So it looks like i've got to lose it for a year then reapply 8 weeks prior to its anniversiary & as long as there's no hypo's it should be ok,we'll see ?
The dvla still seem to be doing their own thing compared to the rest of europe, why & what's diabetes uk doing about it ?
 
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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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