13 medical conditions that could land you a hefty fine
There are a number of health conditions that could stop you driving, but did you know déjà vu was one of them?
DVLA is warning motorists about some surprising medical conditions that could make drivers unfit for the roads.
Failing to reveal existing health conditions to DVLA could lead to fines of up to £1,000 and a potential driving ban.
Almost a third of UK motorists have had their driving licenses revoked for medical reasons over the last five years, according to DVLA data.
13 medical conditions
According to DVLA, there are 13 medical conditions that could land drivers with a hefty fine if they fail to disclose them before sitting behind the wheel.
- Diabetes
- Eating disorders
- Epilepsy
- Stroke
- Sleep Apnoea
- Labyrinthitis – Ear infection
- Arthiritis
- Loss of eye sight
- Memory problems
- Broken limbs
- Severe head injury
- Heart conditions
- Prone to blackouts, fainting or loss of consciousness
Some of these conditions seem too unrelated to even consider spending the time to fill out a form to tell the DVLA about.
Diabetes.org.uk highlights two occasions where diabetes could make driving unsafe: “If how you treat your diabetes means you’re at risk of having a hypo (where your blood sugar drops below 4mmol/l)” and “if you develop diabetes complications that make it harder for you to drive – like problems with your eyes (retinopathy) or nerve damage (neuropathy).”
Eating disorders are another health condition that could see drivers banned from the road. This is because the side effects of severe eating disorders include weakness, dizziness and even the risk of black-outs behind the wheel.
According to gov.uk: “You must tell DVLA if you suffer from an eating disorder (e.g. anorexia nervosa) as it affects your ability to drive safely. Ask your doctor if you’re not sure if your eating disorder will affect your driving.”
One unusual health condition you might not have thought about is déjà vu. When associated with epilepsy, DVLA have ruled extreme cases of déjà vu could cause drivers to become a hazard on the roads.
Penalties for failing to disclose
So, what are the penalties for keeping these medical conditions hidden?
In 2015, Direct Line revealed an estimated 3.4 million drivers in England and Wales failed to disclose relevant medical conditions to DVLA. However, failing to do so could see you fined up to £1,000 and your car insurance invalidated in the event of an accident.
Amanda Stretton, Motoring Editor at Confused.com, said: “Knowing which conditions you do and don’t need to flag to the DVLA can be confusing. Things that might seem minor, such as headaches and déjà vu, can actually affect your ability to drive safely.
“Many drivers don’t realise that an undisclosed medical condition can not only result in a hefty fine, but also invalidate your car insurance. If you’re in an accident and you need to make a claim, but you’ve not notified the DVLA of your condition, this could be a real issue.”
When to know if you need to give up your licence?
DVLA data has shown almost a third of a million UK motorists have had their driving licence revoked for medical reasons over the last five years.
Knowing when to give up your licence can be tricky too, a lot of people don’t feel like their health is bad enough to impair their driving.
The DVLA state that if either of the below apply to you then you need to get in contact with them to handover your licence:
- Your doctor tells you to stop driving for 3 months or more
- You do not meet the required standards for driving because of your medical condition
You can find a full list of the medical conditions DVLA need to know about on the Government website.
