Cdt test / alcohol half life

[moobot]

Hi all. My sister got her licence revoked for 12 months 3 years ago, she had declared a medical issue and they went to his GP who said that she had sought help to cut down on drinking so she had the licence revoked. She is now reapplying and has dvla cdt test on 30th June. We have paid for a private cdt test, the level was 2% as she had had some alcohol prior to that test. After 2 weeks of no alcohol, what are the chances of the cdt dropping below 1.6% cdt? Is it safer to cancel the dvla test on 30th?

 

[topchippyles]

Hi all. My sister got her licence revoked for 12 months 3 years ago, she had declared a medical issue and they went to his GP who said that she had sought help to cut down on drinking so she had the licence revoked. She is now reapplying and has dvla cdt test on 30th June. We have paid for a private cdt test, the level was 2% as she had had some alcohol prior to that test. After 2 weeks of no alcohol, what are the chances of the cdt dropping below 1.6% cdt? Is it safer to cancel the dvla test on 30th?

They will be looking at 1% as the benchmark not 1.6% . Best to abstain for a month to achieve this and she will be very borderline at least.

 

[moobot]

They will be looking at 1% as the benchmark not 1.6% . Best to abstain for a month to achieve this and she will be very borderline at least.

Thank you for the reply. Can I ask where you get 1% as the bench mark?
The DVLA CDT test results will be assessed using a traffic light system of green, amber and red which will correspond to a range of %CDT cut off levels for licensing purposes.
%CDT cut off levels differ for drivers with a history of alcohol dependence or misuse
For drivers with a history of alcohol dependence
GREEN - %CDT = below 1.7%
A CDT level below 1.7% suggests no recent alcohol intake. This means that a CDT level up to and including 1.6% would be acceptable as evidence of there being no recent alcohol intake in someone classed as alcohol dependent.
RED - %CDT = 1.7% - 2.2% or more
A CDT level between 1.7% and 2.2% or more suggests recent excess alcohol intake.

 

[C J 1980]

Thank you for the reply. Can I ask where you get 1% as the bench mark?
The DVLA CDT test results will be assessed using a traffic light system of green, amber and red which will correspond to a range of %CDT cut off levels for licensing purposes.
%CDT cut off levels differ for drivers with a history of alcohol dependence or misuse
For drivers with a history of alcohol dependence
GREEN - %CDT = below 1.7%
A CDT level below 1.7% suggests no recent alcohol intake. This means that a CDT level up to and including 1.6% would be acceptable as evidence of there being no recent alcohol intake in someone classed as alcohol dependent.
RED - %CDT = 1.7% - 2.2% or more
A CDT level between 1.7% and 2.2% or more suggests recent excess alcohol intake.

moobot

To answer your first question about CDT ratings - this is something of a grey area I'm afraid where the DVLA are concerned.

The DVLA have been known to move the goal posts on CDT scores for each candidate who are trying to re-apply for their licence.

When I did my last DVLA medical in November 2020, the paperwork stated my CDT had to be below 1.3%, but I scored 0.9% from the result. I was put in the 'misuser' category so I had to achieve a low pass pass rare to get my licence back.

I have always encourage anyone facing a DVLA medical to aim for below 1.0% then you can't go wrong. The only way of doing this to abstain from alcohol as long as possible.

With regard to your sister's looming medical - she needs to abstain from alcohol for at least a month to ensure she stands a chance of passing (like topchippyles has already said).

My own opinion for what it's worth - she needs to give herself maybe a couple of months sobriety to guarantee passing the CDT if she has had a recent tipple.

CJ

 

[topchippyles]

Thank you for the reply. Can I ask where you get 1% as the bench mark?
The DVLA CDT test results will be assessed using a traffic light system of green, amber and red which will correspond to a range of %CDT cut off levels for licensing purposes.
%CDT cut off levels differ for drivers with a history of alcohol dependence or misuse
For drivers with a history of alcohol dependence
GREEN - %CDT = below 1.7%
A CDT level below 1.7% suggests no recent alcohol intake. This means that a CDT level up to and including 1.6% would be acceptable as evidence of there being no recent alcohol intake in someone classed as alcohol dependent.
RED - %CDT = 1.7% - 2.2% or more
A CDT level between 1.7% and 2.2% or more suggests recent excess alcohol intake.

They are based on older levels pre corvid. 1% is what the dvla look for these days its been well documented on here. They will almost certainly write to her Gp due to history with alcohol and getting them onside is paramount. Most who are classed as HRO or misuse have had liver function test done 3 monthly and documented their last drink with the doctor to prove abstainance

 

[moobot]

They are based on older levels pre corvid. 1% is what the dvla look for these days its been well documented on here. They will almost certainly write to her Gp due to history with alcohol and getting them onside is paramount. Most who are classed as HRO or misuse have had liver function test done 3 monthly and documented their last drink with the doctor to prove abstainance

Don't think she is classed as a HRO as it wasn't drink driving related. Licence wS revoked due to going to GP with depression and saying they wanted to cut down on alcohol use and get support. Dvla then revoked licence. They gave just asked for cdt test. Can't see any updated guidance on 1 per cent cdt, can anyone post anything where it shows 1 per cent please? Cdt currently at 2 % and approx 3 weeks of abstinence since private test. Don't want her to fail I'd she goes too soon..

 

[BigTom]

Don't think she is classed as a HRO as it wasn't drink driving related. Licence wS revoked due to going to GP with depression and saying they wanted to cut down on alcohol use and get support. Dvla then revoked licence. They gave just asked for cdt test. Can't see any updated guidance on 1 per cent cdt, can anyone post anything where it shows 1 per cent please? Cdt currently at 2 % and approx 3 weeks of abstinence since private test. Don't want her to fail I'd she goes too soon..

It isn't written anywhere that 1% is a requirement, but if you read through the threads on this forum you will see countless people who have experience of being classified as either alcohol dependent or misusing alcohol and failing their medical with a supposedly 'green light' on the traffic light system. CDT is just one of the measures that DVLA use, there are plenty of people who have mistakenly thought that because they had a few months abstinence and achieved a low % that they would automatically get their licence back, and they didn't. Conversely though, many people report drinking heavily up to their medical and still getting their licence back. I know which camp I'd rather be in though! CJ and Les are seasoned contributors here, I'd suggest taking their advice, they know what they're talking about.

 

[moobot]

Really appreciate all the posts, unfortunately she has to take the test by 1st of July so may be too late. Must say the process seems incredibly unfair in many respects, especially if they pick and choose whether to follow their own traffic light guidance.