Fighting Back

The publication of a report highlighting major failings at the DVLA has been the catalyst for two drivers to band together and have their revocations overthrown.

A damning report into the way the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency assesses drivers’ fitness to hold vocational licences has prompted two HGV drivers to form a campaign group.

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman says drivers have been let down by the DVLA after it investigated eight cases where people were left without licences, sometimes for several years, as a result of flawed decisions, severe delays and poor communication (News, December 2016 T&D).

One case involved a self-employed lorry driver who suffered a heart attack but eventually recovered. When he came to renew his vocational licence two years later it was revoked because of problems with the results of an ECG reading. After another two years the driver’s cardiac surgeon wrote to the DVLA explaining that he was fit to drive and should be reissued with his licence. More delays followed until he was eventually issued with a licence, four years after his heart attack.

Failure to Update

The ombudsman found that the DVLA had failed to respond to correspondence in a timely way, or to keep him updated on progress. It also found the agency was not open about how it was dealing with the case.

These delays are familiar to HGV drivers Tim Hunt and Neil Stafford. They believe they were treated in a similar fashion and are now keen for the DVLA to reopen their cases and make amends.

Hunt, 56 and from Abingdon, says he suffered a seizure while out cycling, which led to his licence being withdrawn. A neurologist told him it was unlikely he would have another seizure and that he was not a danger to other road users. However, the DVLA’s medical panel disagreed, which has left him without a licence and a career.