XZ123
New Member
Hello,
(apologies in advance for the lengthy text, I've tried to keep to just the relevant details).
Thank you for providing this service, I'm not sure if this is the correct forum for this, please accept my apologies if it is not and I will remove and post elsewhere.
Last September I was involved in road traffic accident whereby I pulled my car off the road to avoid another car approaching me at a fast pace. I collided with a post and was in shock. The police arrived and breathalysed me and found alcohol in my system which I had already admitted to. The reading was under the legal limit. They also swabbed me for drugs and found nothing. The police officer did not believe I was not under the influence of another drug so took me to the station where I was held in a cell overnight and had blood taken.
The only substance found in the blood was cocodamol which I had taken as I was leaving my flat and would not have had time to have had any affect on me as I'd driven all of 5 minutes before the collision. The amount found was miniscule as I'd only taken half the standard dose and well under the limit of opioids to have any detrimental affect on driving ability.
I was summoned to court which caused me substantial stress. I was so stressed I suffered a spate of seizures in November of last year, all within a 24 hour period, I've never had a seizure before and I've not had any since. I have had medical tests run on me (CT scans and MRI) along with numerous blood samples taken, everything has come back as all clear and nothing wrong with my health.
I was hospitalised for three days, I then was off work for six months while I was recovering.
While I was recovering I was incessantly pestered by the court to attend court for my hearing. The first handful of attempts they accepted my doctors note as a medical reason for not attending court, as I'd specifically been advised to avoid stress at all costs. Then on one occasion they did not accept this and went ahead with my case in my absence and found me guilty of the charges put forward. They also at this point issued a warrant for my arrest.
Upon hearing this from my solicitor, I went to the local police station to explain the situation, they were not interested but instead locked me in a cell again overnight. While I was locked up, even though they had been given my anti-seizure medication they were late letting me have it, luckily nothing untoward became of this. The following day they marched me into a van and locked me in what was effectively a 1 metre squared cell which had just a seat, no safety features such as a seat belt or airbag. They drove me 125 miles to court.
When I got to court the magistrate was as bemused as I was, and said I had a valid reason for not attending court, hence the previous court decision was overruled and my arrest warrant quashed. I was in court for no more than a few minutes.
I had to make the 125 mile journey home by myself, still not having been signed off as fit for work.
Once I was signed off as fit for work, I attended court and won my case, all charges dropped and a cost order was issued to claim back my legal defence costs which I am still awaiting to be refunded.
Within days a letter from the DVLA was sent to me saying they have reason to believe I am unfit to drive and informed me unless I filled in and returned the frankly very ample paperwork within a timely fashion my licence would be revoked. I did as requested. Part of the paperwork included giving my consent to my medical files which I agreed to.
About six weeks later I received a letter stating they are still looking into my case.
Last Friday I received two letters from the DVLA stating that I am obliged to attend a full medical examination by their doctor which will include urine and blood samples being taken for drug screening. I phoned the DVLA and asked as to the reason for my summoning to which they divulged the police had informed them of this. Due to the timing I can only infer it was the police officer who lost the case against me, who also happens to be specifically a road traffic officer so I assume he has DVLA contacts.
I don't understand what the DVLA are hoping to find, which hasn't already been found from numerous tests already run on me. I haven't been driving now for eight months, it has seriously had a detrimental impact upon my life and this now feels like victimisation and that I'm being targetted because I won the case in court.
Are you able to provide any advice as to whether I have any recourse as to issue them with test results already run on me and also as to if it's possible to get them to confirm who exactly instructed them I was unfit to drive. This all seems like a waste of time seeing as I was deemed fit to drive in a court of law and I haven't driven since.
Any advice is appreciated, I've already spent a fortune on solicitors costs I'm yet to recuperate and am reluctant to spend further if I will get nowhere with it.
Kind regards.
(apologies in advance for the lengthy text, I've tried to keep to just the relevant details).
Thank you for providing this service, I'm not sure if this is the correct forum for this, please accept my apologies if it is not and I will remove and post elsewhere.
Last September I was involved in road traffic accident whereby I pulled my car off the road to avoid another car approaching me at a fast pace. I collided with a post and was in shock. The police arrived and breathalysed me and found alcohol in my system which I had already admitted to. The reading was under the legal limit. They also swabbed me for drugs and found nothing. The police officer did not believe I was not under the influence of another drug so took me to the station where I was held in a cell overnight and had blood taken.
The only substance found in the blood was cocodamol which I had taken as I was leaving my flat and would not have had time to have had any affect on me as I'd driven all of 5 minutes before the collision. The amount found was miniscule as I'd only taken half the standard dose and well under the limit of opioids to have any detrimental affect on driving ability.
I was summoned to court which caused me substantial stress. I was so stressed I suffered a spate of seizures in November of last year, all within a 24 hour period, I've never had a seizure before and I've not had any since. I have had medical tests run on me (CT scans and MRI) along with numerous blood samples taken, everything has come back as all clear and nothing wrong with my health.
I was hospitalised for three days, I then was off work for six months while I was recovering.
While I was recovering I was incessantly pestered by the court to attend court for my hearing. The first handful of attempts they accepted my doctors note as a medical reason for not attending court, as I'd specifically been advised to avoid stress at all costs. Then on one occasion they did not accept this and went ahead with my case in my absence and found me guilty of the charges put forward. They also at this point issued a warrant for my arrest.
Upon hearing this from my solicitor, I went to the local police station to explain the situation, they were not interested but instead locked me in a cell again overnight. While I was locked up, even though they had been given my anti-seizure medication they were late letting me have it, luckily nothing untoward became of this. The following day they marched me into a van and locked me in what was effectively a 1 metre squared cell which had just a seat, no safety features such as a seat belt or airbag. They drove me 125 miles to court.
When I got to court the magistrate was as bemused as I was, and said I had a valid reason for not attending court, hence the previous court decision was overruled and my arrest warrant quashed. I was in court for no more than a few minutes.
I had to make the 125 mile journey home by myself, still not having been signed off as fit for work.
Once I was signed off as fit for work, I attended court and won my case, all charges dropped and a cost order was issued to claim back my legal defence costs which I am still awaiting to be refunded.
Within days a letter from the DVLA was sent to me saying they have reason to believe I am unfit to drive and informed me unless I filled in and returned the frankly very ample paperwork within a timely fashion my licence would be revoked. I did as requested. Part of the paperwork included giving my consent to my medical files which I agreed to.
About six weeks later I received a letter stating they are still looking into my case.
Last Friday I received two letters from the DVLA stating that I am obliged to attend a full medical examination by their doctor which will include urine and blood samples being taken for drug screening. I phoned the DVLA and asked as to the reason for my summoning to which they divulged the police had informed them of this. Due to the timing I can only infer it was the police officer who lost the case against me, who also happens to be specifically a road traffic officer so I assume he has DVLA contacts.
I don't understand what the DVLA are hoping to find, which hasn't already been found from numerous tests already run on me. I haven't been driving now for eight months, it has seriously had a detrimental impact upon my life and this now feels like victimisation and that I'm being targetted because I won the case in court.
Are you able to provide any advice as to whether I have any recourse as to issue them with test results already run on me and also as to if it's possible to get them to confirm who exactly instructed them I was unfit to drive. This all seems like a waste of time seeing as I was deemed fit to drive in a court of law and I haven't driven since.
Any advice is appreciated, I've already spent a fortune on solicitors costs I'm yet to recuperate and am reluctant to spend further if I will get nowhere with it.
Kind regards.