Dvla - maladministration - unfit to drive - help

[Cabin Guru]

I was found guilty of drink driving (something I am very ashamed of) on 4th December 2020. I was handed a fine and a 23 month driving ban (6 months suspended upon taking a course). I have paid the fine, attended and completed the course in Feb 2022.
My licence was due to be reissued on 25th May 2022 following a medical blood test which I completed and that in turn led to a request for information from my doctor. I was asked then asked to complete a urine test to ensure no class A or B drugs are present in my system. The urine test was on 19th September 2022, I received my judgement and I have now been deemed unfit to drive due to "alcohol dependency" which couldn't be further from the truth. I haven't drunk any alcohol since March this year and before that I was a light social drinker. I regularly visit my local gym and have been looking forward to receiving my license back so my life can get back to normal. I have 2 children, have just moved into a new house (further from my office) and rely on other people and taxis for all of my travel arrangements. I had absolutely no idea that this could happen. This isn't fair and I want to see what steps I can take to prove I am not alcohol dependant. I have many people, both family and friends that can vouch for me, often I have sat with friends and family since March drinking orange juice while everyone else had a drink.. I am so upset and very stressed. Can anyone give some solid advice of the next steps I can take. I was never branded alcohol dependant and I have never stated I am.
Recently I have been taking Nightol to help me sleep because of the delays in receiving my driving license (I was supposed to have it back in May)... I wasn't aware that this had ethanol in until yesterday when my business partner googled it. I can only imagine this may have shown up in my medical.... But at NO POINT have I ever been told that I needed to be totally alcohol free and now they are telling me I need to be alcohol free for a year before I can reapply for my license.

I have NEVER been alcohol dependant, I have no idea where this information has come from.
This situation is causing me, my family and my colleagues severe stress and doubt in the system.

PLEASE HELP I AM ABSOLUTELY DEVASTATED!

[Cabin Guru]

I was found guilty of drink driving (something I am very ashamed of) on 4th December 2020. I was handed a fine and a 23 month driving ban (6 months suspended upon taking a course). I have paid the fine, attended and completed the course in Feb 2022.
My licence was due to be reissued on 25th May 2022 following a medical blood test which I completed and that in turn led to a request for information from my doctor. I was asked then asked to complete a urine test to ensure no class A or B drugs are present in my system. The urine test was on 19th September 2022, I received my judgement and I have now been deemed unfit to drive due to "alcohol dependency" which couldn't be further from the truth. I haven't drunk any alcohol since March this year and before that I was a light social drinker. I regularly visit my local gym and have been looking forward to receiving my license back so my life can get back to normal. I have 2 children, have just moved into a new house (further from my office) and rely on other people and taxis for all of my travel arrangements. I had absolutely no idea that this could happen. This isn't fair and I want to see what steps I can take to prove I am not alcohol dependant. I have many people, both family and friends that can vouch for me, often I have sat with friends and family since March drinking orange juice while everyone else had a drink.. I am so upset and very stressed. Can anyone give some solid advice of the next steps I can take. I was never branded alcohol dependant and I have never stated I am.
Recently I have been taking Nightol to help me sleep because of the delays in receiving my driving license (I was supposed to have it back in May)... I wasn't aware that this had ethanol in until yesterday when my business partner googled it. I can only imagine this may have shown up in my medical.... But at NO POINT have I ever been told that I needed to be totally alcohol free and now they are telling me I need to be alcohol free for a year before I can reapply for my license.

I have NEVER been alcohol dependant, I have no idea where this information has come from.
This situation is causing me, my family and my colleagues severe stress and doubt in the system.

PLEASE HELP I AM ABSOLUTELY DEVASTATED!

[des8]

There is a process which ultimately ends with you making application to a magistrates court for reinstatement of your licence.

There is a description here (https://www.kirwanssolicitors.co.uk/...dical-grounds/)
The link is for information and not an endorsement of the firm

[dslippy]

"I have no idea where this information has come from."
A combination of your denial, and the traces of ethanol in the Nightol.

A two year ban must have been for a serious offence of drink driving. You have to accept that consequences, of distrust at best, will continue.
I think you need to review your memory of the original court order. Your description seems incomplete.
I am sorry for your situation.

[des8]

This is a duplicate thread.
On original I posted:

"There is a process which ultimately ends with you making application to a magistrates court for reinstatement of your licence.

There is a description here (https://www.kirwanssolicitors.co.uk/...dical-grounds/)
The link is for information and not an endorsement of the firm"

[des8]

Duplicate thread
Please keep postings on other thread: https://legalbeagles.info/forums/for...-to-drive-help

[Cabin Guru]

"I have no idea where this information has come from."
A combination of your denial, and the traces of ethanol in the Nightol.

A two year ban must have been for a serious offence of drink driving. You have to accept that consequences, of distrust at best, will continue.
I think you need to review your memory of the original court order. Your description seems incomplete.
I am sorry for your situation.

Yes it was a serious offence, however I was fast asleep in the car, I wasn't actually driving. Maybe I should have booked a hotel, but hindsight is a wonderful thing. I understand and have been back through the court order and my business partner also attended court with me. I have NEVER been deemed alcohol dependant, is there a possibility someone has ticked a box incorrectly? Is there an independent test I can take which will prove I haven't drunk a single drop of alcohol.. Im willing to do what it takes to prove my innocence and take things further if needed. T

[Cabin Guru]

I have just found out that CDT test came back at 0.9% (due to Nightol) upon further investigation I found the attached guidance online and a photo from my letter stating I am unfit to drive..
The threshold - even if I was alcohol dependant is 1.7% . I am well under this? Has there been an error?

I have called the DVLA and told them I have passed all of my tests but they are still not allowing me to drive for another 12 months. They put me on hold... I waited 20 minutes and then I was told that I had passed all my tests but a questionaire filled out in July by my doctor (who I have seen once in 3 years for dry skin, nothing alcohol related) stating he feels I am unfit to drive. If they were going to use this false information why did they even bother sending me for another test? They seem like they are clutching at straws and trying not to admit maladministration or a clerical error, could they have misread the reading at 1.9% rather than 0.9%. I have not drunk a drop since March and have never had alcohol dependancy.

[Manxman]

...and then I was told that I had passed all my tests but a questionaire filled out in July by my doctor (who I have seen once in 3 years for dry skin, nothing alcohol related) stating he feels I am unfit to drive. If they were going to use this false information ...

Well I would have thought the obvious thing to do would be to ask your GP if they had in fact stated that you were unfit to drive, and if they had, what had they based that opinion on as you've only seen them once in the last 3 years and that was for a totally unrelated matter.

Depending on how desperate you are to get this sorted out quickly, you might want to get access to your medical records* over the last three years before asking your GP what is going on.

If the DVLA have correctly relayed to you what your GP told them, then as far as they are concerned they are not using false information. They are using what your doctor told them. (By the way, is it at all possible that you may have undergone some routine annual health checks at your GP surgery that may have raised any concerns? Might you have overlooked that possibility?)

If any health professional has formed the conclusion that you have an alcohol dependency, I'd be surprised if they had done so without concrete evidence of something more than just heavy drinking.

Depending how important your licence is to you, you might want to seek legal advice - preferably a specialist in motoring law. But don't hold your breath...

* I assume your medical records held by your GP would include copies of anything submitted to DVLA, but I might be wrong. How to get your medical records - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

[islandgirl]

I find this all very strange. It is not illegal to drink alcohol only to drive when you have. There is no requirement to be alcohol free totally to get your licence back as far as I know? So why would a blood test be needed for drugs (does to the OP have drugs offences too?) and why would the presence of any alcohol prohibit the return of a licence? Obviously a doctor saying someone was alcohol dependent would but that only happened after the blood test? And why does anyone need to be alcohol free for a year? Makes no sense at all to me...

[Manxman]

islandgirl - does this help? DVLA Medical Guidelines & Examination for High Risk Offenders (drinkdriving.org)

Couple of caveats: (1) I'm not sure how up to date it is, but it seems to reflect what I thought was the position re getting your licence back..

(2) I'm not sure if the OP should be classified as a "high risk offender" - they haven't really told us anything of significance.

(3) If the OP's story is correct that their CDT result was 0.9%, I'm not sure what the issue is

(4) the OP needs to confirm with their GP what they told DVLA - and why.

(5) the OP has a record of a "drug" offence - driving while drunk.

(5) I wonder if we haven't heard the full story...

[islandgirl]

HI Manxman yes it does thank you but it seems strange if the OP says he does not drink now. Drugs and alcohol offences are usually separate but I take your point here. I can only agree that there must be a lot more to this story.

[Cabin Guru]

Thanks everyone for your replies, I have told the whole story and I have never been convicted or even arrested on any other driving offences. I have since spoken with The DVLA and it looks like there has been a mistake somewhere. I have an appointment with my GP tomorrow as the DVLA have said they will reopen the case as my CDT tests do show no evidence of alcohol dependancy. I have even quit smoking cigarettes lol... I am the most boring man alive these days. Fingers crossed all goes OK with my doctor.

[islandgirl]

That is good news - good luck with GP let us know how you get on please

[Manxman]

Good. Let us know what the GP says.

Out of interest, how did you learn what the GP supposedly said about you? ie who told you?