“Alcohol Dependence - Suspension... Please Help!”

Ok story starts as this. I admit, I wasn't the smartest!!! lol

I was helping people move on saturday, had a few drinks. Went out for a night dinner with the wife for date night, had a few more drinks at dinner... but nothing extreme. Got home felt tired and we had people coming over so I downed a Red Bull, first stupid mistake, then after they left i went to the bathroom and fainted, was absolutely dehydrated. My wife was concerned and made me go to the ER. Second huge mistake.

They checked me out and found out I was fine.

3 days later... a letter from the MTO comes saying I have 7 days until my DL is suspended until I file a "satisfactory report".

.... but what is that report...

I wait a week, spend 1 hour and 40 min on hold with the Improvment office... they say there going to send me out another report.... It must of been lost in the mail....

I'm still waiting... Its been 2 weeks...

Does anyone know what this report is, and what I have to get filled out by my MD???

There's some people who can explain this here better than I can, but I'll fill in some of these holes in the meantime. These medical reports are filed because there is a concern that you may be a hazard medically to be on the road. The hazard is that you have these blackouts. You need to see a doctor who can confirm you are fine to drive, that it was likely a one time occurrence based on a culmination of events, and that you're not going to blackout again next week and kill someone.

There must be more to this for a Doctor to receive a patient who fainted" and then suspend your drivers licence for alcohol dependence.

You have a right to have a copy of the Doctors Medical Condition Report that would have been submitted to the MTO by the Doctor.

Here's a link to the MTO brochure on the subject. http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/dandv/ ... ochure.pdf

I get why the 29 year old resident did it, but the point is its a huge pain for something that never happened near my car. She was covering her bum. My question is about people that this has happened to. How long does it take for review. Real time.... if taking 2 hours to answer the phone. Im scared on how long the review time is.

Even my own MD said..."google red bull and seizures"...I did. I cant believe its still on selves. I sure would never touch it again.

Hi Just wondering if you got your additional report questioner?

My story is slightly different, I did faint (first time), not near in the car or anywhere near it and went to the ER and my license got suspended in 3days. My family doctor assures me that all the test came negative and it could have been the heat.

I got a Notice of suspension on Friday, saying that it would be reinstated "When you File a Satisfactory Medical Report". But unlike the others in the forum I never got a letter asking for for additional medical tests or questioner for the doctor. So I don't know how and hat to submit the MOT

Please Advice

BB

BB please email me. I can give you the whole story.

I just received the "report questioner" yesterday!

Going to get it filled out by my doctor Friday.

Hi Keith,

I sent you an email.....

Thank

BB

Q9. How long does it take before I can resume driving once my licence is reinstated?

A9.

Once your medical report is approved and entered on the ministrys database your drivers licence is reinstated. The actual licence card will take approximately 6 weeks however, in

most cases a temporary drivers licence is attached to your reinstatement notice.

The reinstatement notice will come in the mail a few days after your reinstatement is processed. You can visit your local Driver and Vehicle Issuing Office, pay the required fee and

receive a temporary licence if you cannot wait to receive your reinstatement notice.*

*You are required to notify the ministry of any address changes.

How to get a new licence

To get a new drivers licence, visit:

a DriveTest centre

the ServiceOntario College Park location in downtown Toronto

Bring original identification that verifies your legal name, date of birth and your signature.

Fees

$150 reinstatement fee (does not apply if your licence was suspended for a medical reason)

Hello,

My husband just received his reinstatement notice yesterday, after his license being suspended following a head injury 13 months ago. Here's what we experienced:

- License suspended following accident

- He discussed getting it back with Dr. and all agreed he was ready. MTO medical forms completed and sent via fax to MTO Oct. 9th, 2013

- Notice received Nov. 8th that application was approved, further notice to arrive via mail

- Temporary license card arrives in mail Nov. 14, no fee payable, notified that regular license should arrive in the coming weeks (with picture)

- Celebration ensues!

C_B wrote:Hello,

My husband just received his reinstatement notice yesterday, after his license being suspended following a head injury 13 months ago. Here's what we experienced:

- License suspended following accident

- He discussed getting it back with Dr. and all agreed he was ready. MTO medical forms completed and sent via fax to MTO Oct. 9th, 2013

- Notice received Nov. 8th that application was approved, further notice to arrive via mail

- Temporary license card arrives in mail Nov. 14, no fee payable, notified that regular license should arrive in the coming weeks (with picture)

- Celebration ensues!

This is somewhat the answer, except my concerns are why there is a discrepancy on two supposedly official sites on the internet, Let's take this a step further. How is the individual protected from loose or shabby practices in the process. Let us cover some salient points. Here is what happened to one individual. I am not going to reveal the identity of the person but this actually occurred. Though this person had been somewhat of a heavier drinker than normal that person had been overdoing it a bit of late to the point of getting an attack of tremors. He went to the hospital for aid and a checkup. One nurse was assigned. Blood tests and blood pressure were taken, a diazapam given and a visit from a social worker delivering a leaflet. The nurse went to find the appropriate doctor but could not find him/her. She did however manage to procure a prescription for diazapam. She mentioned that, information had been faxed to the ministry and that the person was not to drive for four days. Some time later she reappeared with vague comments about the dangers to one's liver and a bit later, that he was discharged. The individual then went to a pharmacy. The pharmacist could not make heads or tails of the prescription. She had to keep phoning the hospital as they would be soon closing. Finally a satisfactory instruction came through after several tries. The individual then went home, honoured the four day suspension during which he recovered, resolved that it was the end of any alcohol consumption, poured all down the drain and did not touch a drop from that point on. Recovered, he left town to visit and help out an ill friend for a couple of weeks, returned and spent time with family and remained true to the resolve to leave alcohol behind. Right after this he went down to empty the flyers out of his mailbox (flyers because all significant correspondence was carried out by computer and past experience was that issues of import were never in the box). The documentation was found concerning the license suspension. Shocked, he realized that he had been driving two days past the date of suspension. Now all this brings several issues to the fore:

- No doctor had attended him in hospital to discus, in detail, the test results and their implications.

- No brochure had been handed to him at triage outlining the policies and potential outcomes of this kind of visit.

- He was not presented with a copy of the information faxed to the ministry, the recommendations outlined within and the potential consequences.

- The notice of suspension was not hand delivered to ensure receipt of same. Though this is true usually only where criminal charges have been laid. Because

of the fact, that driving while under suspension can involve serious penalties, this type of thing should be hand delivered without exception.

- The questionnaire provided was addressed a full month after the hospital visit. The individual remained steadfast and had not touched a drop for a whole

month. Yet there was no provision for that in the questionnaire. Upon reviewing it I wrote down a couple of examples. Note the following question by way of

example:

1. How often do you have a drink containing alcohol?

[*]Never (0)

[*]Monthly or less (1)

[*]Two or four times a month (2)

[*]Two or three times a week (3)

[*]Four or more times a week (4)

2. How many drinks do you have on a typical day when you are drinking?

[*] 1-2 (0)

[*] 3-4 (1)

[*] 5-6 (2)

[*] 7-8 (3)

[*] 9 or more (4)

In this part of the questionnaire the first 4 questions have this type of wording. How does the individual who has reformed to the point of total abstention

over the last month answer this. The weakness of this kind of question is that it does not take this into consideration. It is akin to the old joke,"Answer

the following with only a yes or no answer: Have you stopped beating your wife yet?" Kind of a damned if you do and damned if you don't thing. Just

to satisfy my own curiosity, I phoned the information number given, was put on hold for an hour (apparently after researching this, pretty much

the standard practice). The girl who answered suggested to answer "Never" for question 1. Now in light of the spirit of this questionnaire, I wonder

how such an answer would be received. Such a slipshod approach just boggles the mind with its negative approach. This and all individuals like him

would benefit from a more positive encouraging approach.

All this leads us to the question, How are the rights of the individual protected? Or is the individual completely at the mercy of medical caregivers not bound to follow correct procedures or the ministry to be responsible for its policies and procedures. I suppose all of this is a function of,.. there are no rights here as driving is a privilege..,except when it is convenient to employ the criminal code. Of course today end runs are possible using section one of the Charter. Kind of a catch 22 for everybody, it seems. It sure would be great to see more people being openly critical of such travesties of justice.

ricknu wrote:I wonder if someone could explain this discrepancy..............................

Which discrepancy, the fee? You don't have to pay any fee unless you can't wait for the temporary licence to be mailed to you (probably about a 5 business day wait).

Stanton wrote:

ricknu wrote:I wonder if someone could explain this discrepancy..............................

Which discrepancy, the fee? You don't have to pay any fee unless you can't wait for the temporary licence to be mailed to you (probably about a 5 business day wait).

If you read the first quote, apparently the temporary notice is supposed to come attached to the reinstatement notice. Also, apparently there are to be no fees where medical suspensions are involved. That kind of thing would indicate that the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing. Both websites are supposed to be expressions of official policy. It may be very well as you say but this kind of apparent confusion does not breed confidence in the process and this is precisely my point. Do they, in fact have so little regard for the public that they don't proofread their own work? That's the impression I get.