BackVulnerable drivers have been left in limbo for years as a result of major failings by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) in assessing people’s fitness to drive, leaving them unable to work and cutting them off from their friends and families, according to a new report published today.
The report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman highlights eight complaints investigated by the Ombudsman service where people with complex medical conditions and disabilities were unfairly left without driving licences, sometimes for several years, as a result of flawed decisions, severe delays, and poor communication.
A professional lorry driver who had suffered a heart attack had to wait 17 months to reverse a decision to remove his licence, despite being symptom free. He lost his business in the process. A piano teacher who had suffered a stroke, but recovered, was needlessly prevented from driving for years due to DVLA failures, leaving her socially isolated, distressed and unable to work.
The similarity of the eight complaints investigated by the Ombudsman service led to a wider review of the way in which DVLA handles medical fitness to drive cases.
Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Julie Mellor said:'People’s lives have been put on hold for years because of severe delays and flawed decisions by the DVLA, leading people to lose their jobs, causing stress, worry and isolation.
The report recommends that DVLA should improve the way it communicates with both licence applicants and medical professionals and produce robust standards to fairly assess people with medical conditions. Without robust standards, there is a risk that people who are fit to drive will be denied a licence to do so, and others, who pose a risk to the public and themselves, will keep their licence and continue to drive. DVLA has not accepted this recommendation.
Since other people will have been affected by the failures uncovered in the report, it recommends that DVLA puts in place appropriate arrangements to put things right for those people too, including, where appropriate, financial compensation. DVLA does not accept this recommendation, thus denying justice to others affected.
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman makes final decisions on unresolved complaints about UK government departments, their agencies and the NHS in England.
For further information, please contact Maria Mansfeld by email or visit the official webpage.
Source: Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman - UK
