I had a minor stroke in November 2019 which resulted in a small visual defect in the lower right hand quadrant of my right eye. there were no other consequences fortunately. I didn't drive for the mandatory 6 weeks and was signed off by the stroke consultant who had put me on to anticoagulants, at the same time. I reported the situation to the DVLA who sent me for a visual field test at Specsavers at the end of January. I was a little nervous doing the test, but when I asked the technician at the end how I had done, all she would say "as we expected". I took this (wrongly) to be reassuring.
I was then very shocked afterwards to receive the letter from the DVLA advising me that I had failed to meet the required standards and my licence was revoked. No detail was given of exactly how i had failed the test. I immediately arranged a visual field test with my own optician which showed some vision loss in the lower right hand quadrant as expected, but full vision elsewhere, as well as in the centre of my field of vision.
I then wrote in mid February to the DVLA enclosing my field test copy and asking what precisely was the reason for my failure. On 10th March I received their reply which stated they had reviewed the new evidence i had provided (!) and I was now free to apply for my licence. I replied by return of post enclosing a full licence application.
Then lockdown happened, the DVLA went into hibernation and were effectively cut-off to the world with their incoming phonelines barred. My attempts to find out what was happening were fruitless.
On July 1st (14 weeks later) the DVLA replied saying that they had made a mistake, I wasn't free to reapply for my licence, contrary to what they advised, and they returned my cancelled licence application!!!. They did state this time that I had failed the test because of too many false positive errors (>20%) and had the grace to enclose a copy of the original Specsavers test.
I immediately replied with the copy of a second private field test with a low number of false positives. A further 7 weeks later the DVLA replied saying this test failed, but again without giving any detail of the reason.
I have now had another field test done at my optician, now they are open again, and fortunately this now shows that my visual defect has improved over time. i have just submitted this new test to the DVLA with (foolish) new hope in my heart.
Of course the pandemic has slowed all bureaucratic processes down, but the DVLA seem to have used the opportunity to become even less helpful. Furthermore their failure/reluctance to clarify the details of the reasons for failing my test each time have slowed me down and frustrated me in equal measure. Never mind the fact that they made a mistake and added 4 months delay to the already unsatisfactory process.
In 6 weeks time it will be the anniversary of my stroke. My condition is stable and has improved over time. I have good vision in both eyes and no physical impairment. So it seems to me that the "exceptional case application" route might prove more successful than the unsuccessful dialogue I am engaged in. I phoned up the DVLA to discuss this option and enquire whether I can submit an application now in advance of the anniversary, in light of the current delay situation. The advisor told me that I had to wait until November and in any case I should submit the new evidence now.
I would welcome any comments or advice that people have please!