Afternoon everyone, just checking what everyone has done reference not driving.
I had my stroke easter monday, severe, bleed on brain, lost all use left side, spent 6 weeks in hospital then 5 weeks in rehab centre, now continuing my recovery at home I have regained use of left side still painful left hand and some numbness and swelling left leg, also since the stroke I feel some days like I’m drunk and whoosey, I had a follow up eye check at Moorfields couple of weeks ago and they confirmed I wouldn’t be fit to drive yet, which is fine as I know I’m nowhere near ready yet as still have visual field loss on left side, but I’m wondering how I proceed when I feel I’m fit enough, I’d imagine visit g.p. and another eye test, also I’ve not informed dvla or my insurers as not driving do didn’t seem any point. many thanks and wishing everyone well on the recovery road which is slow and long.
It is my understanding that if you still have stroke symptoms after a month you have to inform the DVLA.
I did this as I was advised I couldn’t drive for at least 3 months. They then wrote to me telling me what I needed to do etc. I had to pass a dvla field test & my gp also had to complete a medical questionnaire about me.
This link will give you more info.
Stroka Association also has a leaflet on it. Which you can find here.
Hi many thanks for the response, however does seem pointless to inform dvla as I know I’m not ready to drive yet and have no intention until I feel I’ve recovered sufficiently and will then book an assessment test.
It may seem pointless but as I understand it you are still obliged to inform them & their website implies you could be fined up to £1,000 if you don’t tell them.
Fair does, I’ve sent the notification to DVLA it’s interesting though they don’t actually ask when the stroke was, but at least it’s a way for them to make some money from it if I have to send in my licence and pay for another.
Hopefully you don’t have to pay for another. They never asked me to send my licence in so once I had a letter from them saying I was ok to drive there was nothing else I needed to do. This can be different for everyone though.
Hi jelevents
I didn’t let the
Hi.
I didn’t let the DVLA know for four months as like you I wasn’t driving. Then my occupational therapist said there is sometimes a long wait and may have to be assessed before being allowed to drive. We have to let them know no matter so might as well do it sooner rather than late. 6 months in and still not able to drive but hopefully get there .
Good luck with your journey
Russ
Many thanks Russ will see how it goes just got to inform my insurance company,
Good luck to you too
Update, as I had not heard anything back from DVLA I decided to give them a call and finally after 1.5 hours on hold got to speak to a lady who confirmed they had my notification but had not been assessed yet however I could voluntary surrender my license if I wished, so pretty much a waste of time but at least it’s in their hands.
Update on DVLA, received a letter saying I had to have a DVLA eye test at Specsavers so I went Sunday and now awaiting results which could be 2 months, we’ll see
Fingers crossed all ok. I think I waited a couple of months to hear after mine but that was a couple of years ago now.
so I got my results back from DVLA about the eye test and I failed so my license has been revoked now, when I think I’m ready I can have another eye test send DVLA the results and they will arrange for me to have another DVLA group 1 test and if all ok I’ll be allowed to drive again.
Thank you for sharing this with us.
I expect you might be disappointed hat your license has been revoked, but it seems you are taking it well. I think it is ultimately for your safety as well as other road users.
I wish you all the best.
Oh sorry to hear that. Disappointing news for you.
Hopefully it won’t be too long before you can try again.
Best wishes
Ann
Update, I feel I’ve made good progress on my visual field loss so I booked a private group 1 DVLA eye test at Specsavers which went very well, and have sent the results along with an application form to DVLA so will see how long it takes for a reply, I’m really looking forward to getting back to driving again, fingers crossed.
I am sorry to hear you eye test result was not what you wanted.
BUT PLEASE DO NOT BE TEMPTED TO DRIVE UNTIL DVLA CONFIRM IT TO BE OK BECAUSE IF ANYTHING WERE TO HAPPEN YOUR MOTOR CAR INSURANCE MAY NOT BE VALID !!!Then, apart from a heavy fine, you may also lose your licence and it will be very costly to get it back (or if you already have points on it, you may not be able to get insurance ever again. So please be careful!)
Regards,
Bob Isle.(retired Chartered Insurer)
Hi Bob well don’t worry I wouldn’t dream of driving again until my license is reinstated as it would be illegal and I wouldn’t be insured, I always stay the right side of the law .
Bob - I had noticed you regularly gave cautionary advice on posts related to driving and DVLA which is the sort of thing I tried to do, but couldn’t quite word it without making it sound patronising or offensive or stuff to which people might say “keep your nose out”. I totally agree with your points on being cautious but as a non-stroke survivor, I felt uncomfortable saying “Don’t drive, it’s not worth it” because I couldn’t relate to the difficulties that are faced not being able to drive especially if you have always used a car or if you live in places where public transport is not good.
Now seeing that you are a retired chartered insurer, it makes it clear to me why you have been offering such advice. I am so pleased you are doing this because it is something I always would like to say without meaning to offend or patronise those who seek answers 
Again, I say it is easy for me as a non-stroke survivor to say “Don’t drive, or risk driving”, but I do feel that a car is potentially a lethal piece of kit to be in charge of. It’s made worse by the fact there are many uninsured drivers, untaxed vehicles, vehicles with no MOTs etc being driven already. Not forgetting people with bed eyesight and those people who think they can multi-task by using the mobile phone whilst driving !!!
Yeah if we could take all the uninsured, untaxed, unlicensed cars off the road just imagine how less busy the roads would be, plus all the people who passed their tests 40/50 years ago and have never been reassessed but clearly shouldn’t be driving, I believe every driver should have a driver assessment carried out every 10 years.