Medical following a 40 month ban and a gap year. Am I going to fail?

Convicted Driver Insurance

ukbiggs

New Member
Basically I spent jan-september travelling Asia drinking heavily everyday, there was a 2 month complete break throughout may and June but then back on it until mid September..
I was working in a bar for a lot of that period and being a drunken backpacker for the rest so i would say I was averaging a bottle of whiskey a day throughout that period (there were days where we wouldn't drink due to long bus journeys but there were also day sessions where i would get through more than one bottle so I would say this is a good average)


Since I got back in mid September I have been drunk once (new years eve), other than that I haven't touched a drop. It was only a couple of days before my ban was over that i went to fill out the form I received and realised i was required to take a medical!

My question is will they be able to tell that I'm not alcohol dependent and that I haven't drunk in quite a while or will they just average the 200 odd bottles of whiskey over the 12 months and laugh in my face??

I may have been alcohol dependent at some point during my travels but surely the fact that I stopped drinking completely the day I got home says otherwise and should prove there isn't an ongoing issue? But will they be able to see this from the test??

Any advise is much appreciated!!


--- Rant---
This has really P'd me off, I can understand if they had taken this test when I lost my license and proved I'd been dependent while driving but I've been banned so weather or not I've had a drink during that period is nothing to do with them! Dvla told me to ask my doctor however its a struggle to understand my doctors english at the best of times and I dont think she fully understood what I was asking so just kept saying 'it depends' .. Would like abit more info than that before I fork out £180 only to be refused!!
 
If you have spoken to your doctor about this issue then there is a good chance that your application will be refused. To hole a driving licence when there has been evidence of alcohol dependency (which you admit there has) you must demonstrate 12 months of either abstinence or controlled drinking. The DVLA will approach your GP as well as carrying out the medical test and they will almost certainly advise them of your drinking over the last 12 months.
 
Hi, thanks for your quick response!
I didn't say to my doctor that i may have been dependent I just said I had been travelling for 6 months and had obviously been drinking more than usual.
My question to her was would it show that I haven't drunk atal recently and that was just a spike or will it average it out.

So I'll be sure to make it clear there was never any dependence!

Like I said really I'm trying to figure out if it will be looked at by a human as a human that yeah there was a spike but they have seen the documents proving I was abroad for that time and they can see that I haven't drunk since I got back..

Will the fact that I haven't drunk atal since mid september make a big difference or will it just bring the average down?

How much is even the acceptable amount? Spread over 365 days my intake averages about 35cl of whiskey a day, I'm guessing this is too much?

Technically what I did was went on a 7 month binge, how do they measure the difference between weekend binge drinkers and the everyday alcoholic?


This is so frustrating!! Excluding the time spent abroad I can count on one hand the amount of times ive been drunk in In the past 2 years!
 
The difficulty you will have is that you have stated you were drinking a litre of whiskey a day, that is going to be considered a significant dependence upon alcohol. In fact in your first post you state, "I may have been alcohol dependent at some point during my travels".

Whether or not the DVLA's actual medical test will show this period of heavy drinking I cannot say. It is a medical test that is designed to show any period of heavy drinking but I cannot advise whether this will pick up your drinking levels from 4 months ago. The only way to know with the test is to take it and await the results.
 
I'm going to go for it. Sending off my application in the morning.

I'm seeing posts from people stating they stopped drinking for 1 month and were fine?
I've checked the dates and I was drinking daily for 4 months then a 2 month break then daily again for 2.5 months and have only drunk once in the past 4 and a bit months, also it will actually be 5 months by the time I actually go for my medical.
 
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Picking up a car yesterday and trying to get a straight answer from dvla as to weather or not I would be covered under section 88 meaning I could drive again until they told me otherwise was impossible so decided to wait the 3 weeks it takes for them to scan my application onto the system or until I see they have cashed the cheque.

Anyway had a blood test with my own gp today so see how them results come back
 
If you are eligible to drive under section 88 the DVLA should write to you to confirm this, I agree that you should not begin driving until you receive this.
 
If you are eligible to drive under section 88 the DVLA should write to you to confirm this, I agree that you should not begin driving until you receive this.

Well there is a lot of confusion surrounding this. It does state you can drive under section 88 on the form I got providing the ban started before June 2013 however I've had far too many run ins with the police and know oh too well they will do their best to catch you out to take that at face value so wanted to be clear I was within the law. 4 calls and an e-mail later it seems as tho its up to you if you want to risk it!
There has been no mention of notification of recipet of the application, i was told to call every few days to check from the 2-3 week mark as that's how long it takes them to scan it onto the system.

First person I spoke to said until the dvla had received a valid application and scanned it onto the system I can't drive under section 88.

Second person said I could drive right away under section 88 if I had sent the application recorded delivery (so I could prove they had received it) and I knew I had filled it out correctly.

Third person said I could drive right away under section 88 *I have this line recorded!

Fourth person said it was nothing to do with the dvla, it was a law and providing I thought I met the criteria and could prove this to the police I could drive under section 88.
Those conditions were that:
dvla have received a valid application
Your no longer banned
Your doctor has no reason to believe you shouldn't be driving

I e-mailed the local police station who passed it onto to the traffic police however that was 4 days ago now and still no reply!!

I think you may be ok providing you are 100% sure you made no mistakes on your application and have proof of sending it as as i understand it thst is technically section 88 however proving this to a police officer who's being unsurprisingly difficult may be a struggle and would quite likely result in you being arrested for driving without a licence & the car towed and impounded (£120 last time I checked) until you can prove it which would only be when the dvla can confirm they've received it (2-3 week mark)

Ive opted to wait until they cash the cheque as I assume it would be returned if the application was invalid
The medical with my gp so I know if I'm going to pass the dvla one or not as I dont want to insure the car for 12 months only to find Ive failed the medical and still can't drive.

I didn't break the 3.5 year ban, no way am I risking loosing my licence days after its ended for driving without a licence due to not waiting another week!
Would just be nice if it was abit more black and white and someone could give me a straight answer that was consistent with the next person I speak to! Especially when I've got a new car sat outside!!
 
This is the issue. The DVLA, as I'm sure you have realised, are awful at providing a clear and consistent answer to a question. I would always advise waiting until you have written confirmation as if the police pull you over and try to speak to the DVLA on the phone, it is anyone's guess as to what the DVLA will actually say. Ignoring the issue of your car being impounded, you would very likely be charged with driving otherwise in accordance with a licence and driving without insurance, and may then have to face Court proceedings. You could of course contest these, and very probably you would be successful, but you have then got the stress and difficulty of a Court case.
 
Rang dvla on Friday and they had received my application and confirmed it was all correct and that I would be covered to drive under section 88.
Called my gp and my blood test results had come back all as normal meaning when I come to do the dvla medical there should be no problem!!
So after 3.5 years I'm now insured and back on the road with a deep hate for public transport and a much lighter wallet!
 
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