Medical deferred for drivers license suspension.

T

The Walrus

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I just had my 1st class medical deferred because my drivers license was suspended when I was 16 for an accident that did not involve drugs or alcohol. Do you guys think the FAA will give me my medical and about how long will this process take?
 
I cannot answer your question but how long ago was this?
 
If you can show that to the agency (e.g the original arrest report.) they will certify you.
 
I just had my 1st class medical deferred because my drivers license was suspended when I was 16 for an accident that did not involve drugs or alcohol. Do you guys think the FAA will give me my medical and about how long will this process take?
Not enough information in evidence to properly answer the question...
  1. How long ago was this suspension? How old are you now?
  2. What occurred to cause the suspension?
  3. How did you answer Question 18v? What information did you disclose on the form explaining the situation? What information did the AME enter on his side of the form regarding this situation?
  4. When the AME declared "I am deferring", did he provide a more detailed explanation why he chose deferral?
  5. When the AME deferred, did he counsel you on what may be needed to satisfy the information request that you're going to be getting from Oklahoma City?

None of these questions need to be answered here unless you wish to.

But for any of us to have a decent chance of answering your question (including Doctors Bruce and Lou), more information is needed.

((( Edit to add: I see Dr. Bruce Chien provided his input. Good! He is extremely knowledgeable in matters such as this )))

To answer the "How long will this process take?", the short answer is, many weeks.
  1. The AME will transmit his exam findings via the MedXpress system (possibly already done, but let's hedge on a few days)
  2. The file marked "deferral" will land into the "work in progress" pile and await a reviewer's attention.
  3. A reviewer finally gets to your file. It's likely going to be 2 to 5 weeks before this happens.
  4. The reviewer will compare the information provided in the file by both you and the AME, compare to the standards of issuance and
    1. Deny (we really hope this doesn't happen)
    2. Issue (the possibility exists, but solely depends on the reason for the deferral, the information provided, information they dig up in background checks, and more)
    3. Continue the deferral.
  5. If #3, then you will receive a letter from OKC stating that as things stand, they are unable to issue your medical certificate and state the reason. Then they will request for additional details and provide you a list of things you need to obtain and send back to them. Not uncommon is you have 60 days from when the letter was generated to get your reply with the requested info back to their office.
  6. Say it takes you nearly the full 60 days to gather the requested information and send it in.
  7. Your reply lands in the mail room, the letter is opened and eventually scanned. Recent info from various sources tells us it's taking up to three weeks for items to be scanned into the system.
  8. Your updated file returns to the "work in progress pile and awaits a reviewer's attention
  9. Steps 3, 4, & 5 are repeated. Hopefully you don't get deferred again.
___________________________________________________

For anyone else other than "The Walrus" who happens upon this post from a Google Search, please learn this important takeaway:

Do not proceed to the AME's office for any first time medical certification exam unless
  • you fully understand the process of the examination
  • you fully understand the information they want,
  • you fully understand the ramifications of the answers you will provide, and
  • you know beyond 100% without a doubt that you will be issued your certificate right then and there.
If there is any doubt, do not do a "live exam" with the AME. Do a consultative visit only to gather information. Do a search on this forum for the keyword "Consult" and "consultation" to find past threads that explain this.
 
If you can show that to the agency (e.g the original arrest report.) they will certify you.
Question for my own knowledge bank....

Will he need to provide the past driver's history report (10 years?) to show this was the one and only incident?
 
Not enough information in evidence to properly answer the question...
  1. How long ago was this suspension? How old are you now?
  2. What occurred to cause the suspension?
  3. How did you answer Question 18v? What information did you disclose on the form explaining the situation? What information did the AME enter on his side of the form regarding this situation?
  4. When the AME declared "I am deferring", did he provide a more detailed explanation why he chose deferral?
  5. When the AME deferred, did he counsel you on what may be needed to satisfy the information request that you're going to be getting from Oklahoma City?

None of these questions need to be answered here unless you wish to.

But for any of us to have a decent chance of answering your question (including Doctors Bruce and Lou), more information is needed.

((( Edit to add: I see Dr. Bruce Chien provided his input. Good! He is extremely knowledgeable in matters such as this )))

To answer the "How long will this process take?", the short answer is, many weeks.
  1. The AME will transmit his exam findings via the MedXpress system (possibly already done, but let's hedge on a few days)
  2. The file marked "deferral" will land into the "work in progress" pile and await a reviewer's attention.
  3. A reviewer finally gets to your file. It's likely going to be 2 to 5 weeks before this happens.
  4. The reviewer will compare the information provided in the file by both you and the AME, compare to the standards of issuance and
    1. Deny (we really hope this doesn't happen)
    2. Issue (the possibility exists, but solely depends on the reason for the deferral, the information provided, information they dig up in background checks, and more)
    3. Continue the deferral.
  5. If #3, then you will receive a letter from OKC stating that as things stand, they are unable to issue your medical certificate and state the reason. Then they will request for additional details and provide you a list of things you need to obtain and send back to them. Not uncommon is you have 60 days from when the letter was generated to get your reply with the requested info back to their office.
  6. Say it takes you nearly the full 60 days to gather the requested information and send it in.
  7. Your reply lands in the mail room, the letter is opened and eventually scanned. Recent info from various sources tells us it's taking up to three weeks for items to be scanned into the system.
  8. Your updated file returns to the "work in progress pile and awaits a reviewer's attention
  9. Steps 3, 4, & 5 are repeated. Hopefully you don't get deferred again.
___________________________________________________

For anyone else other than "The Walrus" who happens upon this post from a Google Search, please learn this important takeaway:

Do not proceed to the AME's office for any first time medical certification exam unless
  • you fully understand the process of the examination
  • you fully understand the information they want,
  • you fully understand the ramifications of the answers you will provide, and
  • you know beyond 100% without a doubt that you will be issued your certificate right then and there.
If there is any doubt, do not do a "live exam" with the AME. Do a consultative visit only to gather information. Do a search on this forum for the keyword "Consult" and "consultation" to find past threads that explain this.
Thanks for the reply, lots of good info here. But to answer your questions,

1. It was around 4-5 years ago I'm 21 now.

2. I got the suspension because of a ticket for loss of control of the vehicle when I tried to avoid a rabbit and my back tire caught some gravel and I went into a ditch. Normally it wouldn't have been enough points for a suspended license but since I got my license less than a year prior points doubled.

3. I answered yes on 18v and explained the situation in the form.

4. He put down he deferred it due to an accident that did not involve alcohol or illicit substances.

5. He didn't really tell me much besides he doesn't think it will be a problem but they may want a police report of the incident.
 
You authorized the FAA to check to National Driver Records. If the FAA checks those records they can determine the offense was not alcohol or drug related. Instead they will likely make you do their work.
 
I had a similar situation. I had my license suspended for a speeding violation when I was 16. I went for my 3rd class a year later and answered yes to the question and explained myself to the AME. He was extremely helpful and said he needed the court records. He said that if I could get the records to him before the end of the day he could issue, otherwise he’d need to send it in and it would take a while. Luckily since the event was so recent I still had all the paperwork so I just drove the speed limit home, retrieved them, and delivered them and was able to be issued without any deferral.
 
but they may want a police report of the incident
Oh, they definitely will want it, as Dr. Bruce (aka bbchien) said.

They might also want any court record and proceedings.

One way to start getting ahead of it is to go to the county/municipality where all of this occurred and get EVERYthing related to the suspension. What the police officer said in his report, what the charge (if any) was, what the court said when they suspended, etc. Anything and everything in their records they have on you and this incident. There maybe other items you'll be asked to get, but this is a start.
 
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