drink driving blood test

[ijol]

I am in the process of re applying for my licence following a ban. I visited my doctor yesterday to discuss the application form and he suggested I have a blood test which he did there and then. This was done, he said, so that it
could prove there has been no alcohol abuse if and when dvla contacted him. I am now worried because over the last few months I have had the odd few drinks on the weekend only, but I had two pints last Thursday, 4 days prior to the blood being taken. After doing the dvla drivers rehab course I know that that amount of alcohol would be rid of my system by the next day, but as I have had a few drinks most weekends and those two pints close to the blood being taken, am I going to find that I have a positive result in my blood?

 

[Forum Moderator]

I am in the process of re applying for my licence following a ban. I visited my doctor yesterday to discuss the application form and he suggested I have a blood test which he did there and then. This was done, he said, so that it
could prove there has been no alcohol abuse if and when dvla contacted him. I am now worried because over the last few months I have had the odd few drinks on the weekend only, but I had two pints last Thursday, 4 days prior to the blood being taken. After doing the dvla drivers rehab course I know that that amount of alcohol would be rid of my system by the next day, but as I have had a few drinks most weekends and those two pints close to the blood being taken, am I going to find that I have a positive result in my blood?

The blood tests carried out are designed to detect people who misuse and/or who are dependant on alcohol. If you have only drank the odd few drinks on a weekend over the last few months, you do not have any recent history of alcohol dependence or misuse and as long as your blood test results do not show unexplained abnormal blood markers, then you should have no cause for concern.

You can find out more information about the DVLA medical here and the current medical standards for fitness to drive here.

You could also use the search facility on this forum to find other threads/posts relating to DVLA medical enquiries and blood tests etc. You will find a lot of helpful information.

I am sure others will respond to this thread in due course, let us know how you get on.

 

[bristol.red]

Ijol, what do you call a "FEW drinks most weekends"? If you are doing 18 units or more on a Friday, Saturday & Sunday = 54 units in all, then not giving your liver time to recover in the week and topping up with 2 pints on one or more days in the week. Then I would imagine your gamma gt test will be well above average and even in the fail category.

The fact you had 2 pints 4 days prior a liver function test means nothing. I know of people who have drunk 10 pints the day before a dvla medical and passed it with ease. As the moderator said, DVLA are looking for constant misuse or alcohol dependence. Doing 3 times or more of the recommended level of 21 units per week is likely to cause DVLA some alarm and may result in a short term licence or total refusal if your consumption is much higher.

Anyway the good news is you do not even have your medical booked yet, so you got plenty of time to cut down or abstain altogether.

 

[ALEXF]

I am in the process of re applying for my licence following a ban. I visited my doctor yesterday to discuss the application form and he suggested I have a blood test which he did there and then. This was done, he said, so that it
could prove there has been no alcohol abuse if and when dvla contacted him. I am now worried because over the last few months I have had the odd few drinks on the weekend only, but I had two pints last Thursday, 4 days prior to the blood being taken. After doing the dvla drivers rehab course I know that that amount of alcohol would be rid of my system by the next day, but as I have had a few drinks most weekends and those two pints close to the blood being taken, am I going to find that I have a positive result in my blood?

Hi,


I would second what bristol said. I would imagine that the test you completed at the doctors would have been a liver function test. The test the DVLA currently use is a CDT test. They are quite different.

The doctors completing a liver function test will only be an issue if there are any abnormalities in the result. The DVLA do contact GP's in some instances. At this point your doctor would have to disclose the abnormal result.

A lot depnds on how much you actually drink and what is on your medical records. Without this info we cant help. A few drinks could mean many different things. Plus other factors such as medications can alter blood results.

Hving been through this process very recently i can tell you that your medical history as well as your blood results are both very important to the DVLA. The DVLA have contacted my GP recently due to depression even though my cdt result came back at 0.8%. Hope this helps

 

[bristol.red]

Hi,

The DVLA have contacted my GP recently due to depression even though my cdt result came back at 0.8%. Hope this helps

Alexf, how did you find out the exact result of your CDT test? Please PM me if you do not want to post it on a public forum.

Thanx in advance.