DVLA - Licence for MSers can now be for 5 years

[Marina]

I’ve always known a driving licence for people with MS, when limited, has always been a 3-yr licence.

 

When I first informed the DVLA of my MS, at the time of my DX, they didn’t limit my licence. However, 3 years ago, they did, to a 3-yr licence.

 

This year, I got the reminder, filled in several pages of questions, which were pretty much the same as 3 years ago, and was told I had to have a medical with my GP. This initially terrified me, as I couldn’t think why on earth they’d need one, as my replies to their questions hadn’t changed since 3 years ago, and I don't have problems that could affect my “fitness to drive.”

 

Having had the medical, they then sent me my new licence, which is now for 5 years! Whoopee, I thought, but couldn’t figure out why it should have increased from 3 to 5 years.

 

A couple of days later, I got a letter from the DVLA, explaining:

“DVLA has recently been advised that in instances where a driver has had multiple sclerosis for at least three years and has been able to demonstrate that their condition has remained stable, it may be appropriate to issue longer duration medical licences.”

 

I don’t know how recently “recently” is, but I thought this might be of interest to other MSers who might not know about this new duration for MSers.

 

I also don’t know what constitutes “stable” in this respect, but maybe the cause of my having to have a medical was for the GP to confirm that not much has changed in my SPMS over the past 3 years, in relation to the DVLA’s questions on the form?

 

Re the medical with my GP, I needn’t have worried. It just seemed to consist of asking me the same questions as were on the form, and doing a vision test for what I guess was checking my peripheral vision: closing one eye whilst pointing out which of her hands my GP was wriggling her fingers with.

 

By the way, the whole process, from the initial reminder form to receiving my licence, took a whopping 3 months!

[Stumbler]

That's good to know. Thanks for sharing, Marina.

 

[Nick]

Yes indeed that is very interesting. I wonder how the DVLA thinks it can say anyone's MS can be described as 'stable' While it might have been unchanging in the previous three years, who can say what will happen in the future...........Anyway its a good thing if it see a reduction in paperwork.

 

Thanks for the info Marina

[Marina]

Maybe their interpretation of “stable” is based on people like me, who are SPMS with a very slow progression (albeit "stable") and no relapses or sudden flare-ups of certain types of symptoms - and/or where one’s disabilities, even if not “stable”, don’t affect one’s ability to drive?

 

What the DVLA look at is “fitness to drive”, which takes in things like vision (eg: uncorrected double vision and any visual field problems), dizziness, cognitive issues, excessive sleepiness, and whether your limbs might or do need adapted controls. They ask you to list your meds, so if Modafinil is one of them, make sure you say it’s for MS-related fatigue and not sleepiness, as fatigue and not narcolepsy is usually the reason Modafinil is given to MSers.

 

As for what kind of examination they may ask for (they don’t always), it seems to vary, but I don’t know on what basis other than some clerk sticking a pin in a list of choices. Some, like mine, seem to be simply with your GP, others can be with a doctor of the DVLA's choice (which could be miles away), or with an optometrist (which could be any local one of your choice or one of their choosing, and who might ask you to read a car registration number plate from 20m away), or can even be an actual driving assessment where you’re asked to drive around.

 

You can see the whole DVLA “Assessing fitness to drive– a guide for medical professionals” online here:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/assessing-fitness-to-drive-a-guide-for-medical-professionals

or in PDF here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/670819/assessing-fitness-to-drive-a-guide-for-medical-professionals.pdf

(I’ll also add this link to the “Resources” section it was already there)

Edited 2 Jan 2018, 12:23 pm by Marina
Correction to last line

[Scully]

Thanks Marina,

That is good to know.....but why do these 'bodies' make things so convoluted for everyone...?

Scully

x

[Marina]

Lord knows why these "bodies" feel the need to make everything so convoluted!

 

My Blue Badge renewal comes at the same time as my driving licence renewal. As I prefer to keep a hard copy (scanned) on my computer of forms I fill out, I didn't do the Blue Badge one online as recommended by my local council (despite their comments that it can take 3 weeks when done online and 6 weeks if by post). So I had 2 forms to fill out at roughly the same time. The Blue Badge form was 19 (yes, NINETEEN) pages long, and the DVLA one was 6 pages long...

 

I can understand the DVLA one maybe needing to know if you've had changes or got worse etc, but I really don't understand the Blue Badge one asking you exactly the same questions as before if nothing's changed or if your condition is permanent (like MS is). Firstly, you tick a box to say it's a renewal and not a request for a new badge. Five pages later, it asks if you've had a Blue Badge before... doh, of course I have if it's a renewal! What they then should do, but don't, is ask if anything's changed or if everything's the same as it was 3 years ago - which would save you filling in 14 more pages... On top of those 19 pages, I also send them a full A4 page of additional notes, as the boxes they give you for "details" often aren't big enough, as well as to clarify some aspects. The form's a bit like the DLA/ PIP form, with specific questions about walking distances, speed, pain and how it affects you, etc, so I try to make sure I explain as fully as possible about my various pain conditions and how it affects me, and how I need to open the car door to its fullest in order to get out/in and so on.

 

So, I posted 20 pages for the Blue Badge, and got my new badge in one week, the fastest I've ever had it. I guess I'm lucky as some councils aren't as "easy" (wrong word, MS brain-fart moment). Maybe they took one look at all my hand-scribbled entries and 1 page of typed additional notes, and thought it easier to just renew it than go through it?

 

I posted 9 pages to the DVLA for the renewal of my driving licence, and it took 3 months... Go figure, as the American say . Oh, and when I got the letter about needing to have the medical with my GP, it told me to wait at least 7 working days before making the appointment, and that the appointment had to be within 6 weeks of the date of the letter (maybe as some kind of tacit cognitive test, whilst trying to remember to mark your diary accordingly?). As trying to get an appointment with my GP for less than 3 weeks away is a bit of a miracle, I started getting worried that I might not be able to fulfil the DVLA's time schedule, especially as I know these DVLA medicals have to be for a minimum of 30 mins. Must've been lucky again, as I got an appointment for the following week.

 

Mind you, I suppose we shouldn't complain too much, bureaucracy in other European countries (France, Italy, etc) can be 10 times worse...

[Nick]

There have ben improvement in the way the govenment enables information to be accessible. I'm impressed by the online information and forms now easily available.

That said I completely agree with Marina when it comes to the filling in of forms and the repetition of requested information. This is nothing new! I recall my frustration at work, having to complete official paperwork, where information had to be repeated over and over agin. In a commercial enviroment this is very detrimental. It seems to me the UK is pretty bad at not taking more time to get things right......something that would save us time and them money!!

Edited 3 Jan 2018, 4:07 pm by Marina

[Marina]

With Nick’s approval, I’ve deleted his paragraph in his last reply about Pregabalin and needing a “personal licence” when taking meds abroad, as it was off-topic. He’ll be starting a new topic about it instead

[Scully]

Re the 'government bodies'

 

One requests a form.

They double check your address when you ask for it.

First question on the form....

What is your address ????

Crazy, in this day and age of pre- populated forms.

Scully

 

[Marina]

Scully, and too true!

[Nick]

Crazy world..............I love a form I can fill up on-line or downloadable as a computer fillable PDF........ my right side doesn't work these days and writing manually is a slow process...........making repetitive requests on forms a "Grrrrrru" situation