HOW TO RETURN TO DRIVING
Fact Sheet Number 2
Many thousands of people return to driving after becoming disabled through accidents or illness. There are a few simple guidelines to follow. If you hold a current driving licence when you become disabled, you are required by law to notify the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). The same law applies to any disability or medical condition which worsens and is likely to affect your ability to drive safely - see leaflet D100 (obtainable from Post Offices or download from website - http://www.dvla.gov.uk ) which explains the sorts of conditions you should report. To do this you should write to the DVLA (Drivers Medical Branch) Swansea , SA99 1TU , advising them of the nature and extent of the disability, giving your driver number or your full name and date of birth. The DVLA will normally respond by sending a "medical-in-confidence" form, which will ask you for more details of your disability, details of any adaptations required, and for your consent to contact your doctor or specialist for a report to the Department's Medical Advisers.
A Medical Adviser will consider this report and make a recommendation about the continuation of your licence. If he or she is still in some doubt about the effect your disability might have on your ability to drive safely, then you might be asked to attend an examination by an independent doctor in your area or by one of the DVLA's own medical specialists. Alternatively, in certain circumstances, you might be asked to take a driving test with one of the Driving Standards Agency's driving examiners or to go to one of the driving advice and assessment centres that are situated around the country.
A decision about your future entitlement to drive after you have notified the DVLA of your disability or medical condition will depend on the medical facts and the result of any driving test/assessment.
The DVLA may restore your full driving licence valid until you are 70. Alternatively, a restricted licence could be issued for one, two or three years. When your restricted period licence runs out, you will not have to pay to renew it. If you require adaptations to the car to enable you to drive, this will be noted on the licence.
Even if you are given a licence valid until you are 70, you are still legally bound to tell the DVLA if your disability worsens at any time before that.
After you reach the age of 70, your licence will be renewed for three years or less depending on the circumstances, with the possibility of further renewals.
If your licence is withdrawn as the result of the development or the worsening of a disability, the DVLA will tell you and will also give you details of your right of appeal against the decision.
Every effort will be made by the DVLA to allow you to continue to drive; they would only withdraw your licence if it were apparent that your condition was such that driving could be potentially hazardous to yourself and other road users.