if a gp tells you to surrender a driving licence are you likely to get a bus pass?

Indie_Kid

SailorSam wrote: »

What areas do the passes cover.
Say for example i were issued a pass here in Merseyside does that mean i can travel the whole of the UK.

A bus pass issued in England only covers local bus services in England. Some passes cover local tram and train services; but not England wide ones.

j0nathon2

I was diagnosed with Epilepsy a few years ago; my GP and both of the two consultants I saw told me that I had to surrender my licence, as soon as the symptoms were explained. (I surrendered immediately anyway, but to cover themselves they still told me on each occasion).

I was entitled to a bus pass but didn't take it up as I was actually spending less than I had been driving and it didn't feel right.

With Epilepsy, and I assume any condition, there are benefits to surrendering your licence voluntarily - when the doctor clears you, you are permitted to drive while the DVLA review your case. However, if your licence is taken off you when the Dr tells the DVLA, you cannot drive until they give you it back.

[Deleted User]

Buellguy wrote: »

Well this is what the DVLA say about what the doctor HAS to do:


It is the duty of the licence holder or licence applicant to notify DVLA of any medical condition, which may affect safe driving. On occasions however, there are circumstances in which the licence holder cannot, or will not do so. The GMC has issued clear guidelines* applicable to such circumstances, which state: “1. The driver is legally responsible for informing the DVLA about such a condition or treatment. However, if a patient has such a condition, you should explain to the patient: (a) that the condition may affect their ability to drive (if the patient is incapable of understanding this advice, for example, because of dementia, you should inform the DVLA immediately), and (b) that they have a legal duty to inform the DVLA about the condition. 2


And this is the bit from the doc re arrhythmia:


Driving must cease if the arrhythmia has caused or is likely to cause incapacity.
Driving may be permitted when underlying cause has been identified and controlled for at least 4/52.
DVLA need not be notified unless there are distracting/disabling symptoms.



So draw your own conclusion

I don't have access to any GMC guidelines, I have to go by what the DVLA website says:

You must tell DVLA if you have arrhythmia.


As I said above, when I asked the cardiologist, he just avoided the question. The NHS have a track record of this:

In 2004 I asked my GP whether I had to declare Ocular Migraine, and he told me to go and ask the DVLA, saying "It's not my job to give medical opinions". When I rang the DVLA I had my licence confiscated on the spot by a kid in the call centre who said "what's a migraine".

I was then pig in the middle for another five months: "go and ask your doctor", "go and ask the DVLA". When the DVLA wrote to my GP he just put the letter in the filing cabinet and ignored it. It seems that the DVLA are the only people the NHS are frightened of, they just don't want the responsibility of making a decision when there's an organisation more powerful than they are who can hold them to account.

The DVLA have a 90 working day limit for dealing with cases, so on the 90th day they sent a letter telling me I could have my licence back if and when the doctor says I'm fit. Exactly the same position I had been in for the previous 90 days. When I eventually got a letter telling me I could reapply, it had been backdated to the 90th day. I'm sure if I falsely misrepresented a date with them I'd get prosecuted.

AlphaBravo

janiebquick wrote: »

I don't think a GP is able to take away your licence.

What they do is contact the DVLA concerning your unfitness to drive and the DVLA then revokes your licence.

I obtained my bus pass after being diagnosed with impingement of the shoulder and drowsiness due to medication I have been prescribed for years for a different condition. However rather than go through my GP I simply contacted DVLA directly. They sent a letter advising I should not drive and revoking my license.

I then sent a copy of the letter to my local authority with the completed application form and was issued with a bus pass almost immediately.

This was 4 years ago, however so the procedure may possibly have changed/been tightened up since then.