DVLA revoked carer’s licence, preventing visit to dying daughter

A carer who lives in a rural village says the DVLA revoked their driving licence last summer, leaving them unable to reach their daughter after she entered end-of-life care on Christmas Eve. The carer says the situation began after a fall in June that caused a minor head injury. A hospital consultant advised two weeks off driving and asked the patient to inform the DVLA; the DVLA told them by phone they could drive again after that period and asked for a medical form.

They resumed driving, but two months later received a letter ordering them to stop immediately until early December and to return their licence, with no explanation for the decision. The carer says they reapplied in October as instructed so the licence would be ready, but December passed and repeated requests for updates drew only the response that the application was being processed.

After the Guardian contacted the DVLA, the carer was called the next day and told they could drive; the daughter died three days later with the carer at her side. The Guardian asked the DVLA what medical evidence prompted the revocation, why action was delayed by two months, why reissuing the licence was slow and whether there is a backlog.

Key Topics

Politics, Dvla, Driving Licence, Carer, Head Injury, Medical Assessment