Rescinding of my licence by DVLA

colmil

Can anone help me regarding the above?

I have been diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, commonly known as 'Tunnel vision'.
This has to notified to the DVLA, and my licence has been revoked.

I run a samll business which entails driving 30,000 miles a year, both my business and my personal life have been shattered by this decision.

I can see superbly well to drive, I have driven at least 25,000 miles a year for 40 years, have never had an accident or even been close to one. Just lucky? Of course, not!

DVLA stipulate that a driver should have a peripheral vision of 120 degrees, mine is 75-80 degrees, yet the test did not allow me to move my eyes as I would when driving.

I need to appeal, but no-one in the optical field can give me a' proper' visual test as DVLA will only accept results from machines.

Having seen the complete mess made by DVLA of licences this week on 'Watchdog' they are as useless as most other Govenrment agencies.

I am desperately in need of advice on this, can you help, please?

mrbadexample

Hi Colmil

Sorry to hear your news - I'm not exactly sure what to say here. On the one hand, I realise this decision will cause you enormous problems. On the other, the DVLA have the standards for a reason.

Movement in the periphery of the visual field is what tends to attract our attention and cause the eye to swivel to focus on whatever moved. I appreciate that you look around for hazards whilst driving. However, if you are looking at a particular object (such as a speed camera, another car etc.), you are unlikely to notice movement outside the 80 degree visual field you have. So if something moved (dog, bike, child etc.) outside your visual field, you may not pick up the potential hazard, whereas a driver with 120 degree visual field might.

Please don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying you are a bad or unsafe driver, or that I necessarily agree with the DVLA decision. I am hoping to give you a better understanding of the logic behind the decision, as I don't think I can help any other way.

It may be possible to obtain an independant medical report, but I don't know if it would be accepted by the DVLA, or what it might cost. Can the condition be treated or corrected in any way?

I sincerely hope you find a workable solution to this.

colmil

Thanks for your reply.


I appreciate what you say, I have a friend who has been blind in one eye for 40 years, yet he can drive to his job every day as a car salesman, even if his field of vision is 120 degrees, he still can't see as much as me!

There is no treatment for this condition.

Thanks.

mrbadexample

colmil wrote:

I have a friend who has been blind in one eye for 40 years, yet he can drive to his job every day

That's a bloody good point. My Grandad lost an eye in the war, and drove until he was so old and frightening that the family took his keys away. I never thought about that. Doesn't make much sense, does it?
Sorry to hear the condition isn't treatable either. I don't know what to suggest.

Altarf

I would contact the Royal National Institute of the Blind as they will have experience of this. They may have a solution or they may not, but I would trust their opinion over that of the DVLA.

colmil

Thanks for your suggestion,

Colmil.

superhoop

Colmil:

I am both deeply sympathetic with you and incensed (at the DVLA).

My father had a similar experience this year. He's an insulin-dependent diabetic, and he had a nasty hypo back in April. It was the first one ever where he hadn't been aware of its onset and to cut a long story short there were exceptional circumstances as to why this was.

Ironically his licence was up for its regular 3 year renewal. He told the truth and the licence was duly revoked. As a hill farmer in the remote countryside he was devastated and became very depressed. He could hardly speak to me on the telephone. It was almost as if his life had been taken away from him.

But we got organised. I wrote letters on his behalf to the DVLA and to his local Health Authority explaining the injustice of the situation. To be fair the DVLA were bloody useless. They kept losing documents, wanting medical forms filled in etc. My brother and I had planned to employ private doctors and solicitors if need be to take the case further.

After lots of hounding and six months later, the county diabetes specialist wrote a letter to the DVLA clearing my father to drive and he immediately got his licence back and happily he's now a different person.

Now I realise that you're in a different situation, but let me tell you I can feel your distress. I nearly cried for my father when I saw how hard the news had hit him.

If you can take anything from our story, please remember that there is hope. The DVLA is a massive iceberg of an institution, unfeeling, uncaring, disorganised, unloved & undervalued itself. But if you can summon the energy, perhaps it's best to go on the offensive. We found we had to tackle them tooth & nail.

• As suggested, the RNIB is a great idea
• See if there are any self-help groups for your condition online
• Seek professional advice, private if you can afford - ask if they would write to the DVLA on your behalf
• Consider approaching a solicitor to see what the legal position
• Keep copies of all documentation religiously. You will not believe how many times my father had to fill in the same forms due to DVLA incompetence.
• Consider continuing to reapply for the licence. We found that there is nothing to stop you and it is free if it has been revoked. Build up some supporting evidence first, e.g. doctor's letters.
• What evidence do you have to say that "no-one in the optical field can give me a' proper' visual test"?

As a last thought, I understand what mrbadexample is saying. I'm sure that most people at DVLA are very good. However, someone has looked at your case, seen the words "tunnel vision" and destroyed your livelihood at the stroke of a pen without any reference to your personal circumstances or your actual ability to drive.

In a world where people get killed by unlicensed drivers and un-MOTed cars, what's happening to you is to my mind very, very wrong.

Take care my friend.

Steve

BobToo

What you need in any situation like this is somebody who's dealt with it before, which makes RNIB your first port of call.

carl310166

I have read and understand the above posts,but the DVLA is in a no win situation here.

They have upset people who have had their licences revoked BUT,if they did not revoke them,who do you think would get the blame if there was a fatal accident? I guarantee,it would be the DVLA for not doing anything!

I don't mean to offend,but people need to take responsability,i drive 2000 miles a week,and i KNOW i could not live with myself if i had an accident and killed somebody if i knowingly had medical condition that could affect my driving.

superscotsman

I am sorry to appear unsympathetic, but if one's eyesight is not up to the required standard, one must not be allowed to drive.

superhoop

Well unfortunately one does appear to be unsympathetic and with all due respect one finds trite comments like this unhelpful. One seems to miss the point of this thread.

No-one is suggesting that those with unfortunate levels of visual impairment or certain medical conditions should be allowed to drive.

I'm talking about cases at the margin - where people's livelihoods are swept away by a second's decision of a faceless beaurocrat.

When your licence is revoked:

- There is no formal process for review of your case

- Via some sort of arcane process, puts the burden of proof on YOU to prove that you are fit to drive, but provides no information for how to do this.

- The DVLA has no office or department for dealing with these cases.

The system could and should be a lot better. If ever there was a case for a 'Citizens Charter', here it is.