Driver who failed to tell DVLA about medical issue has been jailed in warning to drivers

Jason Sweeney kept information about his seizures a secret to avoid the DVLA from taking away his licence on medical grounds. However, Mr Sweeney ignored advice and suffered a fit behind the wheel before ploughing into two young boys in a horrific accident which left a boy suffering life-changing injuries.  

Sentencing the offender, Judge Geraint Walters said Mr Sweeney had put his selfish interests first and claimed it had been pure luck no one had been killed. 

The judge said: “You chose to drive after you had been told more than once that you were liable to have a fit. You deliberately failed to tell the DVLA because you knew your licence would be revoked.

“Effectively you were duping them by putting your selfish interests first. Now look what has happened. It is pure luck, and only pure luck, that the court is not dealing with the death of a child.”

The mother of one of the boys affected in the collision revealed her son can no longer play rugby after the accident and regularly woke with nightmares. 

This comes with a £2,500 fine, six penalty points and potentially a driving ban for a short period. 

Seizures are one of the most common medical conditions which leads to driving licence being revoked on medical grounds. 

A total of 2,509 motorists with solitary seizure issues lost their licence in 2018 in an increase of almost 1,000 compared to 2014. 

Blackout seizure marker revocations increased by almost 600 percent between 2014 and 2018. 

Just 10 motorists lost their licence for the medical issue in 2014 before the figure rose to 57 four years later. 

The number of drivers who lost their licence for the condition almost doubled between 2017 and 2018 in a rise from 29 to 57.