Proof of abstinence if no blood testing at GP

Convicted Driver Insurance
If you are supposed to show 12 months abstinence to get your licence back and have been unable to have the regular blood tests at your GP because of the covid virus, is there any other way to request your licence back. I take it my word of being teetotal would not be good enough.
 
Yes you are correct if that was the case we'd all being saying it, LFTs form part of your medical evidence which is required by DVLA for them to consider a licensing decision, and which is supplied through your own GP so there is no cheating....DVLA are extremely strict regarding their process....
 
If you are supposed to show 12 months abstinence to get your licence back and have been unable to have the regular blood tests at your GP because of the covid virus, is there any other way to request your licence back. I take it my word of being teetotal would not be good enough.

You should really be allowed to get a private hair test to prove it.But i've been told on here the dvla do not allow it.(In case you get someone else to take it).Seems crazy to me as my gp does not actually take my blood personally anyway.I get a form and take it to one of many medical centre's local to me.None of which know me or ask for any form of identification.
 
Last edited:
You should really be allowed to get a private hair test to prove it.But i've been told on here the dvla do not allow it.(In case you get someone else to take it).Seems crazy to me as my gp does not actually take my blood personally anyway.I get a form and take it to one of many medical centre's local to me.None of which know me or ask for any form of identification.
I think the answer to your query is this, taken from the site of an organisation in the US who do hair testing for alcohol:

“Approximately 200 strands of hair are required for testing. The hair samples will be 3 or 6cm long, depending on the time period your client needs to be tested for, e.g. 3cm of hair will cover a 3-month period. “

So you could look forward to driving open top (not a car, but your head!) if you have to do that for a year....!

Mind you there is an alternative to head hair:

“Head, arm, chest, and pubic hair can all be used for alcohol testing, however, the reliability and accuracy varies. Head hair is the preferred sample as it provides the most accurate picture of alcohol abuse. Arm and chest hair can determine excessive alcohol abuse but the time period is not as concise as head hair. It is not advised to use pubic hair as the test is designed to detect ethanol, and urine has a high concentration of ethanol, leading to false-positive results.”
 
You should really be allowed to get a private hair test to prove it.But i've been told on here the dvla do not allow it.(In case you get someone else to take it).Seems crazy to me as my gp does not actually take my blood personally anyway.I get a form and take it to one of many medical centre's local to me.None of which know me or ask for any form of identification.
I think you should be allowed to send a selfie video of you touching your nose with your eyes closed to show you are not drunk. Oh, or a letter from the local off licence confirming you no longer buy whisky at 8.30 in the morning.... ffs!
 
I think the answer to your query is this, taken from the site of an organisation in the US who do hair testing for alcohol:

“Approximately 200 strands of hair are required for testing. The hair samples will be 3 or 6cm long, depending on the time period your client needs to be tested for, e.g. 3cm of hair will cover a 3-month period. “

So you could look forward to driving open top (not a car, but your head!) if you have to do that for a year....!

Mind you there is an alternative to head hair:

“Head, arm, chest, and pubic hair can all be used for alcohol testing, however, the reliability and accuracy varies. Head hair is the preferred sample as it provides the most accurate picture of alcohol abuse. Arm and chest hair can determine excessive alcohol abuse but the time period is not as concise as head hair. It is not advised to use pubic hair as the test is designed to detect ethanol, and urine has a high concentration of ethanol, leading to false-positive results.”



I think the answer to your query is this, taken from the site of an organisation in the US who do hair testing for alcohol:

“Approximately 200 strands of hair are required for testing. The hair samples will be 3 or 6cm long, depending on the time period your client needs to be tested for, e.g. 3cm of hair will cover a 3-month period. “

So you could look forward to driving open top (not a car, but your head!) if you have to do that for a year....!

Mind you there is an alternative to head hair:

“Head, arm, chest, and pubic hair can all be used for alcohol testing, however, the reliability and accuracy varies. Head hair is the preferred sample as it provides the most accurate picture of alcohol abuse. Arm and chest hair can determine excessive alcohol abuse but the time period is not as concise as head hair. It is not advised to use pubic hair as the test is designed to detect ethanol, and urine has a high concentration of ethanol, leading to false-positive results.”



I think you should be allowed to send a selfie video of you touching your nose with your eyes closed to show you are not drunk. Oh, or a letter from the local off licence confirming you no longer buy whisky at 8.30 in the morning.... ffs!


What are you on about.?.

I was making the point that a lft ordered from my doctor is not taken by my doctor.And is not done by a person who knows me,nor a person who has seen any identification whatsoever.It is probably less safe than me walking into a private testing service.
 
What are you on about.?.

I was making the point that a lft ordered from my doctor is not taken by my doctor.And is not done by a person who knows me,nor a person who has seen any identification whatsoever.It is probably less safe than me walking into a private testing service.


Just to clarify just what i meant,

A private test should really be considered by dvla at the moment.If the testing center confirmed that you had provided a passport say,or good id.

It is extremely difficult to get a face to face appointment with a gp at present,and as i said my gp doesn't even do the blood test.So as for "proof" i could get anybody to walk into one of the many blood testing facilities near me and show only the blood form given to me by gp receptionist.

The gp LFt result is worthless unless they actually take the blood personally.Or see it done in front of them there and then.Or it has as much value as a test from a private center otherwise.
 
Just to clarify just what i meant,

A private test should really be considered by dvla at the moment.If the testing center confirmed that you had provided a passport say,or good id.

It is extremely difficult to get a face to face appointment with a gp at present,and as i said my gp doesn't even do the blood test.So as for "proof" i could get anybody to walk into one of the many blood testing facilities near me and show only the blood form given to me by gp receptionist.

The gp LFt result is worthless unless they actually take the blood personally.Or see it done in front of them there and then.Or it has as much value as a test from a private center otherwise.
What stops the private test facility taking a backhander? How do DVLA know they have checked your passport? No different to getting an MOT test done by a non-MOT test centre, they probably could do just as good a job but doesn't count as they are not licenced for it!
 
What stops the private test facility taking a backhander? How do DVLA know they have checked your passport? No different to getting an MOT test done by a non-MOT test centre, they probably could do just as good a job but doesn't count as they are not licenced for it!


There is obviously nothing stopping a corrupt employee taking a backhander,although i would have thought you would have to really know some people in high places,or be very wealthy or both,to be able to do it.A company would have a heck of a lot to lose if it were uncovered and made public though.

Your example of M.O.T is reasonable,although obviously employees working at a genuine center do on occassion break the law in giving more leeway than they should,or just book the car in and pass it without ever seeing it.It happens.

But on the balance of probabilities you would expect a private test from a reputable firm to be genuine.

Yet a test ordered by a gp,unless done in front of them does not even have the option of them knowing who actually took the test.Purely my word it was me who handed the form over and gave blood at a center where nobody knows who i am.
 
Just an update to my original post. I reapplied for my licence even though I had no proof of abstinence. Was hoping they would reply telling me what to do. That was about 6 months ago and they cashed my cheque 3 months ago. Am still waiting. Anybody been in a similar position?
 
Just an update to my original post. I reapplied for my licence even though I had no proof of abstinence. Was hoping they would reply telling me what to do. That was about 6 months ago and they cashed my cheque 3 months ago. Am still waiting. Anybody been in a similar position?
I was told by dvla in 2019 that they required proof of abstinence although I had already did this at the medical a short time before (urine test).
Dvla requested that my gp contact their doctor and discuss what should be done. It was agreed I take another urine test.
After I did this I reapplied with the requested "proof" which was the urine test results.
A few weeks later all my forms and the urine test results from the gp were returned as dvla insisted they had no proof of abstinence. I had to reapply from scratch, new forms, medical and writing time of one year.
This was a direct result of the dvla doctor forgetting to put the details of his conversation with my gp on file.
So, even though I had sent the proof of abstinence as agreed and requested by dvla it was rejected as they said I had not sent it - all because their doctor had forgot to mention that this was discussed with my gp.
I would imagine that this is what will happen with you.
You have simply provided any proof of abstinence as requested and required - I had and they still rejected it.
 
I find the DVLA lack of communication so frustrating and they certainly don't make it easy to get your licence back even when you've done what was expected.
 
I find the DVLA lack of communication so frustrating and they certainly don't make it easy to get your licence back even when you've done what was expected.
Hi, no. They were an absolute bureaucratic nightmare at the time.
They asked for proof of abstinence and when I called to find out exactly what proof was required and how to get it they could not provide any answers.
So proof required but we don't know what proof and how to get it.
I called again after the application was rejected and was faced with an impenetrable case manager who said that even the dvla medical urine test was not proof of abstinence and only meant I was clear on the test day.
They were a nightmare to deal with, nothing could get through to them. A 3 month application took one year due to their doctor failing to put a simple note on file even though the details required had been noted by the call advisor.
 
Yes it's that bit about not telling what proof they require. Secret service or what! They've cashed my cheque so I'm waiting to see what happens next. I wonder if I can have my money back if I don't hear from them in say another 3 months. Totally fed up of waiting.
 
Yes it's that bit about not telling what proof they require. Secret service or what! They've cashed my cheque so I'm waiting to see what happens next. I wonder if I can have my money back if I don't hear from them in say another 3 months. Totally fed up of waiting.
Yeah, it doesn't make a single bit of sense in any way at all...we need proof but don't know what it is!!
I was told in December that if my application was rejected then my postal order fee would be returned.
 
Enter code DRINKDRIVING10 during checkout for 10% off
Top