Health Issues and Driving

[boatbuilder]

I have just been reading this article (first link below) about health issues that can affect driving. Having read the article and then looking down the list of 182 conditions on the GOV.UK website referred to in the article, for which I have also included the link below, I'm beginning to wonder if anybody should be driving?

Five medical conditions to declare before you can drive

Check if a health condition affects your driving

[funkychick]

I wish they were stricter with their rules I know a person with Alzheimer’s still driving, he barely know where he lives but still behind the wheel and one with a heart so bad that she could have a big heart attack any moment she is waiting for a major op and can hardly drag herself out of bed with tiredness but is driving I also used to work with a lady who had a stroke but got back in the drivers seat as soon as she was up (without waiting for any doctors tests to give her the all clear)

[kerch]

No-one sugested that I give up driving when Sciatica was giving me so much pain I could hardly walk let alone drive a car safely.I stopped driving and sold my car.

[boatbuilder]

FC, this is the document that advises about driving for those with a heart condition:

DVLA Document

There is also a Four page form which has to be completed for those with Alzheimers.

[boatbuilder]

Whilst on this subject, I had my first spell driving this afternoon since my eye op on Monday and all was fine. The surgeon advised that it would be OK to do so providing I meet the statutory eyesight requirements for driving and I know that I now well surpass that, even without glasses which I didn't need to wear, so am very pleased. I don't remember when I last drove without glasses - probably over 40 years ago.

[funkychick]

Ahh but you only have to complete the form if you declare you have Alzheimer’s the person I m thinking about wouldn’t even open the letter let alone read and understand a form his family haven’t told DVL as they say he ll go spare if he can’t use his car
Lovely to know your eye is doing so well B.B. I do hope I ge5 offered it next time I have my check up

[boatbuilder]

Maybe somebody outside the family should be informing DVLA anonymously FC. I would have thought the doctor has a responsibility, as should have happened in the Glasgow bin lorry crash, unlike in Germany where they aren't allowed to breach the patient confidentiality, no matter how serious the issue is.

I say that, as that was an issue in March 2015 when the Germanwings aircraft flying from Barcelona to Dusseldorf was deliberately flown into the French Alps by the co-pilot Andreas Lubitz. The investigation found that he had been informed by his doctor that he should not be flying because of a mental condition. However, the doctor was unable to take any action without breaking German law. It was down to the co-pilot himself to inform his employer, which he didn't. Certainly that was more serious than driving a car.

Regarding your own eyes, maybe you just need to give the optician a slight nudge in the right direction next time you have your eyes tested, FC. It's worth a try.

[morty1753]

Many years ago when I suffered a fit after a bad accident I was told by the consultant that I would be banned from driving for 2 years because of it.

At that time if you suffered an epileptic seizure you were not allowed to drive until you had been seizure free for 2 years. I don't know what the rules are today.

The doctor was not allowed to inform DVLA and it was totally my responsibility to inform them, which I did.

The consultant told me that he was not allowed to inform DVLA himself due to patient confidentiality.

It seems that if I had not informed them then there is no other way they would have known.

[Abu Nuwas]

Perhaps the DVLA -if it is still called that - should try thinking outside the box. In addition to the great list of problems which will debar people from driving, they also have a quaint rule which says that if an epileptic has the medication altered -- then they must wait a year before driving again, despite the presumption that the Consultant would be trying to improve things. A year! But you and the Consultant can agree to carry on as previously -- to the detriment of the Patient's health, and perhaps putting more danger in the way of the public. It would only occur when nocturnal fits were involved, since otherwise driving would be a no-no.
The world is built around cars; there is a huge disincentive to be honest with your doctor.
But how about bikes? Or those mobility things? Not too much danger to others, eh? So maybe it would be good to have a little think about what sort of car people should be banned from. I see a big difference between a McClaren, and a little Suzuki. Now, back to Rant Score....