My Father had a stroke in January 2024 and is now 1 year post stroke, he has visual field loss on his right side in both eyes so has had his license revoked just today after his 2nd appointment to check if his visual field had improved. Obviously this has hit him very hard, in the letter from the DVLA it says he can be reconsidered in exceptoinal cirmcumstances, he meets all the criteria in the letter.
Has anyone else been through this process? Any imformation about the DVLA test or any other information to help improve it even further before a test woudl be much appreciated
Thanks in advance
Anna
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Hi Anna, l had to undergo a DVLA driving assessment before my licence was reissued albeit for leg movement not sight problems. I would stress that it is not a test but an assessment of driving ability. A car is provided on the day and I was accompanied by two assessors and lasted an hour. I felt it quite daunting but was very much put at ease and was told I was successful on completion. I would reiterate it is not a driving test that must be passed but to show your ability and observational skills. I do hope this is of use . Jerry.
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It may be worth having a look at some previous threads on this topic.
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Thanks Jerry
This is really helpful, my dad has Aphasia so cannot communicate all that well, also he has always driven a Manual car with a handbrake so not sure how he will cope if its a newer car 
Thanks for your reply though it is much appreciated
REgards
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Hi Anna
The DVLA communicate all details by letter, and pay for the assessment. The car I was provided with on the day was an older model with handbrake and was manual. With regard to Aphasia which I also suffer with, I had to ring the centre to confirm a time but the centre are well used to people with problems like ourselves. You have to be driven to the centre but on arrival I was quickly put at ease and I enjoyed the experience by the end of play. I do hope all goes well. Best regards, Jerry
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Hi Jerry
Thanks for this, I will explain all this to my dad when I see him later today, the more information I can get about the day will surely help me prepare him for it.
Its great they provided a manual with a handbrake for you.
Can I just ask do they take you out on main roads like on a driving lesson? I assume they have dual controls like driving instructor cars.
My dad attempted to drive on a really quiet road 7 months after he came home from hospital but he took a corner really wide so we didnt think it was a good idea to carry on letting him practice
Thanks
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Hi,
The car was a dual control car with an ex. Military instructor, and the assessment was undertaken in Yeovil, a large town about twenty miles from where I live and involved the usual dual carriageway, roundabouts and traffic lights but nothing too taxing. No parallel parking, reversing round corners, emergency stops, just general driving awareness.
Jerry.
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I had a stroke in 2020 and suffered peripheral vision right hand side in both eyes, The DVLA rejected my application for exceptional test case and I had hire a solicitor. The main argument for my case was that the DVLA doctor said I didn’t meet one of the requirements which was the full function and adaptability. Fortunately my solicitor knew someone who dealt with this, so my advice to you is to see if the local hospital have someone who can carry out an assessment. The assessment was to walk down a hospital corridor and pick up 20 post it notes, which I did, and she wrote a letter to the DVLA supporting my case which led to me getting an exceptional test (was a full driving test) which I passed and now have my licence back. Just don’t rely on your doctor have further support from hospital, hope you get your licence back
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Hello @bluenose4464 - Welcome to the community.
It’s great you are able to share your experiences with us 
Namaste|
@bluenose4464 just popping along to say hi & welcome to the community. Thank you for sharing your experience and I am glad all worked out for you in the end.
Best wishes
Ann
Hi Anna. Yes, I’ve been through this, but have not regained my licence. Under the Exceptional Case process, he will need to get a medical professional to write a letter supporting his application. One of the criteria for applying is full functioning capability. That has always been an area of contention, but in 2024, the Secretary of State’s expert panel on visual issues and driving, confirmed that the driving assessment met that criterion. However, although the DVLA Medical Group dealing with eyesight have confirmed (a past FOI) that they do not employ Ophthalmologists (!), they are under no obligation to accept the expert’s opinion. Those experts are academics and qualified Ophthalmologists, who also work in the NHS.
After 12 months, it is unlikely that the field of vision will improve. If his Exceptional Case application is approved, he will get a provisional disability assessment licence (PDAL) that will last for up to three months for refresher lessons before a cognitive, reaction time, and 50 minute driving assessment; note that the PDAL conditions are the same as for a provisional licence even though he held a full licence. If he is successful, write again and I can describe the procedure.
Unfortunately, the DVLA team that you will deal with are medically unqualified and work to written instructions. The DVLA require my long-standing visual field issue (right-side homonymous hemianopia like your father’s) to disappear such that I have perfect vision, in order to apply for a PDAL. That is even though a prominent expert in stroke-related visual disability, has provided written evidence stating that is “very unlikely”.
The best of luck, I know how hard it will be for him. As my lungs are scarred from dronedarone and amiodarone, I don’t use public transport, nor go to crowded indoor events. If he can use a computer, the Stroke Association have engagement workshops, and universities are always looking for lived-experience people who’ve had a stroke.
John
My first post introduces myself, describes some experiences so far and asks a few very specific questions about the ‘exceptional circumstances’ process. I have already done a lot of research and read numerous threads, thanks.
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Ischaemic stroke, complete left homonymous hemianopia, and atrial fibrillation April 2024.
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DVLA informed, Specsavers field test submitted, licence revoked August 2024, no driving done since April 2024.
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DVLA very slow, wrote to a doctor who had left the hospital but failed to chase up a lack of response!
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Autumn 2024 very useful and friendly visit to Carshalton Mobility Centre Open Day in Surrey. Good driving instructors and occupational therapists. Drove on test track and did braking tests on machine rig.
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Discharged from opthalmologist, who put copies of DVLA exceptional case letter and guidance on my file for future visit. Eye doctor knew little or nothing about the DVLA process and was not sure how the hospital would test me and assess functional adaptation when my one year was up in April 2025.
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February 2025 asked GP to refer me to eye hospital to start the exceptional case process from April 2025 - long waiting list at East Surrey Hospital!
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Made freedom of information request to DVLA asking for blank copy of report form used by assessment centres to report back to DVLA on an assessment. DVLA failed to provide this, sent me something I didn’t request, so I have asked for FOI internal review.
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How have other people got a health professional to certify the points listed as part of the exceptional case process? How have patients demonstrated full functional adaptation to a medic? (DVLA give guidance on how adaptation can be demonstrated eg tennis but the examples are not helpful). I have seen a thread mention identification of post it notes on a hospital corridor! How long have people waited for the various stages eg assessment, issue of provisional disability licence, assessment and final DVLA decision? How often do DVLA overule the advice of the assessment centre? Is using a solicitor any help to apply pressure to DVLA?
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Thanks everyone for sharing your experience.
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Greetings @StephenW - I have nothing to offer you but moral support.
I welcome you to this community and hope you will benefit from joining us as much as some of the others who have found their way here. Based on my experience, this forum is more helpful than anything else I have tried.
Wishing you all the best.
Namaste|
@StephenW just popping by to say hi & welcome to the community. Sorry to hear of your stroke.
I hope some others will be along shortly to answer your specific questions. I didn’t have to go through that process to be able to drive again.
I don’t know if it is any use but I have put a link to the Stroke Associations leaflet on driving after stroke. It might help with a couple of your questions.
Best wishes
Ann
Hi Stephen.
Some of your questions may have been answered by my previous post replying to Anna. The Secretary of State’s expert panel on driving and visual disability meets again on 11 March, and item 4 on the agenda is the Exceptional Process. It will be 4 to 5 months before the minutes are in the public domain. The majority of that panel are experts in visual disability and driving, and as far as I know, still work in the NHS although they are academics at Liverpool University. You will see that the Secretary of State’s expert panel has said that the full functional test is the driving assessment; however the DVLA can choose whether to implement expert advice. By all means use a solicitor but going to Court will be expensive if you do not succeed, as your legal costs will be significant, and you will also have to pay for the very expensive DVLA costs. You could try getting your MP to table a written question in the House of Commons. A submission to the DVLA’s two-stage process, then the DfT ICA followed by the PHSO (via your MP) is incredibly slow. My submission started in 2021 and the PHSO has yet to issue the initial findings. It’s indicative that the PHSO has not completed a detailed inquiry into DVLA medical submissions since 22 July 2021. My MP is Darren Jones (Chief Secretary to the Treasury), and if his constituency aide can’t move things along, there’s not much to be done. I have driven a pre-driving test set up at Castle Coombe race course, I’m certified by Bristol Council to use powered landscaping tools in open public parks, I have submitted supporting letters from two GPs who know me well, and supporting evidence from a member of the Secretary of State’s expert panel, but to no avail. I am required to have normal sight to obtain a PDAL.
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Thanks for the update. Will be interesting to hear the outcome from the panel on 11th March.
Thanks Jerry much appreciated
Thanks so much, my father is so ready to get back driving, its all he wants, i will be so upset if he doesnt get the chance to prove he can still manage.
Thanks John Boy, sent the letter off in January,still not heard anything, fingers and toes crossed he gets the test.
Hi Stephen,
I had the same issues you had, you keep banging your head against a brick wall as the DVLA and their doctors are so difficult to negate. I hired a solicitor, and he found an ophthalmologist who specialised in full function and adaptability. As well as doing the test using post it notes they also asked how the stroke had affected me and how I had managed to deal with the peripheral vision loss. I am not sure where you live but there must be an ophthalmologist who would support you. It always seems to be the full function and adaptability that they keep challenging. Don’t give up keep on fighting , If I got my licence back I am sure you can too, it just takes time and a lot of patience with the DVLA.
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