Can you drive after a stroke?
Discussion
OK, so let's get a few of the PH bylaws sorted out to start with.
Firstly, yes, it really is a friend.
Secondly, yes, he will phone the insurance company today.
Thirdly, yes, he is reading the small print as I type this.
And finally, no, he does not intend to drive for a few weeks anyway but wondered about the legal side of it as opposed to the moral side.
On Tuesday a friend of mine had a very minor stroke whilst at work. He was taken to hospital where they did various tests (ECG I think) and then, as he was now feeling perfectly OK, they told him to book an appointed with his doctor for the results, and then sent him home.
On Wednesday he was feeling fine and back to normal but he visited the doctor, as arranged, who confirmed he had had a minor stroke.
The doctor then said that he should not drive for a few weeks as he would not be covered by insurance.
He was not told to contact his insurance company and has not heard anything from them and nothing was said about his licence or contacting DVLA.
Can the doctor unilaterally speak for ALL insurance companies?
Would this be the 'normal' reaction of ALL insurance companies?
How would the insurance company even know? Is there a data base that doctors subscribe to for this situation or would you just be expected to contact your insurance company yourself?
Would the insurance company just cancel the insurance or would the insurance remain as long as he didn't drive it. (i.e. the vehicle would still be insured if someone hit it while it was parked up).
Would it show up on ANPR as not insured? If not how would anyone ever know whether he was insured or not – unless he had an accident?
From what point was he not allowed to drive and when will he be allowed to drive again?
He is reading the small print and will be speaking to his insurance company later today. Just wondered if anyone else who had been in a similar situation, or had any medical or insurance experience of this, had any constructive comments.
Thanks
Firstly, yes, it really is a friend.
Secondly, yes, he will phone the insurance company today.
Thirdly, yes, he is reading the small print as I type this.
And finally, no, he does not intend to drive for a few weeks anyway but wondered about the legal side of it as opposed to the moral side.
On Tuesday a friend of mine had a very minor stroke whilst at work. He was taken to hospital where they did various tests (ECG I think) and then, as he was now feeling perfectly OK, they told him to book an appointed with his doctor for the results, and then sent him home.
On Wednesday he was feeling fine and back to normal but he visited the doctor, as arranged, who confirmed he had had a minor stroke.
The doctor then said that he should not drive for a few weeks as he would not be covered by insurance.
He was not told to contact his insurance company and has not heard anything from them and nothing was said about his licence or contacting DVLA.
Can the doctor unilaterally speak for ALL insurance companies?
Would this be the 'normal' reaction of ALL insurance companies?
How would the insurance company even know? Is there a data base that doctors subscribe to for this situation or would you just be expected to contact your insurance company yourself?
Would the insurance company just cancel the insurance or would the insurance remain as long as he didn't drive it. (i.e. the vehicle would still be insured if someone hit it while it was parked up).
Would it show up on ANPR as not insured? If not how would anyone ever know whether he was insured or not – unless he had an accident?
From what point was he not allowed to drive and when will he be allowed to drive again?
He is reading the small print and will be speaking to his insurance company later today. Just wondered if anyone else who had been in a similar situation, or had any medical or insurance experience of this, had any constructive comments.
Thanks
His doctor is a medical professional, not an insurance specialist, as far as we know.
Neither you nor he would consult confused.com for medical advice, nor would you phone 111 to ask about insurance. The GP should have stuck to his specific area of expertise.
That said, I have no idea about the accuracy of what he has said but it strikes me the same way as A&E medics spouting about the efficacy or otherwise of cycle helmets "oh yes, you definitely would have died had you not been wearing one" etc.
I believe only your friend's insurer would be able to supply a definitive answer.
Neither you nor he would consult confused.com for medical advice, nor would you phone 111 to ask about insurance. The GP should have stuck to his specific area of expertise.
That said, I have no idea about the accuracy of what he has said but it strikes me the same way as A&E medics spouting about the efficacy or otherwise of cycle helmets "oh yes, you definitely would have died had you not been wearing one" etc.
I believe only your friend's insurer would be able to supply a definitive answer.
Not a full answer, but googling “driving stroke .gov” gave me:
https://www.gov.uk/stroke-and-driving
My dad had a mini-stroke about 15 years ago. He had no problems at all with driving, but did take a little time off it, just in case. The main point is, if you are able to drive safely, they’ll let you drive. A minor stroke is common in older people, I don’t know of any disasters caused by anyone just because they’d recently had a minor stroke.
https://www.gov.uk/stroke-and-driving
My dad had a mini-stroke about 15 years ago. He had no problems at all with driving, but did take a little time off it, just in case. The main point is, if you are able to drive safely, they’ll let you drive. A minor stroke is common in older people, I don’t know of any disasters caused by anyone just because they’d recently had a minor stroke.
Well, his doctor has advised him not to, so I imagine that would be considered to be expert advice on the subject - assuming it's a position of "I do not think you are fit to drive".
If he means "I think you're fine, but your insurer/the DVLA won't like it", then logically his insurer/the DVLA are the ones to ask.
I suspect "what does your doctor say?" would come up at some point.
If he means "I think you're fine, but your insurer/the DVLA won't like it", then logically his insurer/the DVLA are the ones to ask.
I suspect "what does your doctor say?" would come up at some point.
A stroke is a declarable illness/condition, and therefore, regardless of size, your friend will need to declare it.
The DVLA will then write to the doctor (takes about 4 weeks) and will ask if he feels your friend is well enough to drive, and if there are any on going checks that need to be made and medication that is needed.
Once the DVLA have this, they will let your friend know if they are going to let him keep his license.
I suffer from a declarable illness (Sleep Apnoea) and as long as I keep up my treatment, and attend my checkups annually, then I am allowed to drive.
The DVLA will then write to the doctor (takes about 4 weeks) and will ask if he feels your friend is well enough to drive, and if there are any on going checks that need to be made and medication that is needed.
Once the DVLA have this, they will let your friend know if they are going to let him keep his license.
I suffer from a declarable illness (Sleep Apnoea) and as long as I keep up my treatment, and attend my checkups annually, then I am allowed to drive.
A stroke is a declarable illness/condition, and therefore, regardless of size, your friend will need to declare it.
The DVLA will then write to the doctor (takes about 4 weeks) and will ask if he feels your friend is well enough to drive, and if there are any on going checks that need to be made and medication that is needed.
Once the DVLA have this, they will let your friend know if they are going to let him keep his license.
I suffer from a declarable illness (Sleep Apnoea) and as long as I keep up my treatment, and attend my checkups annually, then I am allowed to drive.
The DVLA will then write to the doctor (takes about 4 weeks) and will ask if he feels your friend is well enough to drive, and if there are any on going checks that need to be made and medication that is needed.
Once the DVLA have this, they will let your friend know if they are going to let him keep his license.
I suffer from a declarable illness (Sleep Apnoea) and as long as I keep up my treatment, and attend my checkups annually, then I am allowed to drive.
AndyNetwork said:
A stroke is a declarable illness/condition, and therefore, regardless of size, your friend will need to declare it.
Not according to the government website linked to in an earlier post."You only need to tell DVLA if you’re still having problems 1 month after the stroke."
You don't need to inform the DVLA if you've had a stroke - unless your doctor is concerned about your ability to drive. If the doctor has said 'give it a couple of weeks' then that is exactly what he should do.
More importantly - what caused the stroke? Will your friend have stents fitted or something done to prevent this happening again? Is he OK?
More importantly - what caused the stroke? Will your friend have stents fitted or something done to prevent this happening again? Is he OK?
My dad had a bad accident last year which landed him in hospital for a week with a nasty chest injury (haemothorax and a good few broken ribs).
On discharge the doctor said he shouldn’t drive for 6 weeks - advice he heeded.
The doctor doesn’t contact DVLA, or anything like that, but I would assume that going against their advice might be a costly mistake should you end up in an accident and have your medical history brought up.
On discharge the doctor said he shouldn’t drive for 6 weeks - advice he heeded.
The doctor doesn’t contact DVLA, or anything like that, but I would assume that going against their advice might be a costly mistake should you end up in an accident and have your medical history brought up.
I had a stroke about 6 years ago - I was 43 years old.
I was told not to drive after my stroke ... As it turned out I couldn't use my right side too well and I probably wouldn't have worked out what the pedals were for.
After 3 weeks I was told I could drive again. As it was less than 4 weeks, I could drive without telling my insurance company.
I have told them anyway.
It does matter, but more important for me is not driving when tired.
I was told not to drive after my stroke ... As it turned out I couldn't use my right side too well and I probably wouldn't have worked out what the pedals were for.
After 3 weeks I was told I could drive again. As it was less than 4 weeks, I could drive without telling my insurance company.
I have told them anyway.
It does matter, but more important for me is not driving when tired.
If your friend had symptoms lasting less than 24hrs and completely resolved (with NO lasting neurological deficit), he suffered a Transient Ischaemic Attack, not a Stroke.
If this is the only such episode, he must NOT drive for 1 month but need not notify the DVLA.
It would be prudent to inform the insurance company (though I'm not sure whether he's legally obliged). I assume some follow up has been arranged via the A&E department for the Stroke/TIA clinic?
HTH.
If this is the only such episode, he must NOT drive for 1 month but need not notify the DVLA.
It would be prudent to inform the insurance company (though I'm not sure whether he's legally obliged). I assume some follow up has been arranged via the A&E department for the Stroke/TIA clinic?
HTH.
Edited by g3org3y on Friday 25th January 17:59
aclivity said:
I had a stroke about 6 years ago - I was 43 years old.
I was told not to drive after my stroke ... As it turned out I couldn't use my right side too well and I probably wouldn't have worked out what the pedals were for.
After 3 weeks I was told I could drive again. As it was less than 4 weeks, I could drive without telling my insurance company.
I have told them anyway.
It does matter, but more important for me is not driving when tired.
Had a similar thing, slightly older. Similar results. I did decide to verify i was actually fit to drive, so did a practical assessment. Which proved fine, so insurance co. were unworried as were me and my family.I was told not to drive after my stroke ... As it turned out I couldn't use my right side too well and I probably wouldn't have worked out what the pedals were for.
After 3 weeks I was told I could drive again. As it was less than 4 weeks, I could drive without telling my insurance company.
I have told them anyway.
It does matter, but more important for me is not driving when tired.
https://www.rdac.co.uk/about-us/our-process/
NGee said:
"You only need to tell DVLA if you’re still having problems 1 month after the stroke."
I had a TIA at 47, and that ties in with what I was told. I was in hospital overnight for observation and tests and discharged the next day.
Saw my GP a couple of days later and he signed me off work for 4 weeks, after which I had a follow-up appointment and as there were no ongoing problems it was back to driving (good) and work (necessary)!
Thankfully no recurrence more than a decade later.
my father had a massive stroke 2 years ago and was in hospital for a long time, as he was unable to drive for a set period of time, doctor said he was obviously unable to drive and because the time period had lapsed (i think it was a month) he had to notify the dvla & surrendered his licence (easier to get it back than the dvla revoking it)
It has taken a long time and lots of assessments, doctors visits, eye tests etc but a few months back his doctor was happy for him to resume driving and so set about the arduous process of applying to the dvla to get his licence back.
Many doctors assessments, consultations, specialists etc (due to an eye condition as a result of the stroke) he then later passed a simulator test, an off road and on road driving examination and received his licence back in the post. it took a very long time from start to finish. (i think around 8 or 9 months)
However in the meantime as his doctor said he was happy for him to resume driving the dvla said that he could drive under section 80 of the RTA.
The insurance required a few documents and contacted his GP but insured him to drive until he received his licence back in the post.
ive been a bit vague as I didn't deal with any of the paperwork etc but HTH
It has taken a long time and lots of assessments, doctors visits, eye tests etc but a few months back his doctor was happy for him to resume driving and so set about the arduous process of applying to the dvla to get his licence back.
Many doctors assessments, consultations, specialists etc (due to an eye condition as a result of the stroke) he then later passed a simulator test, an off road and on road driving examination and received his licence back in the post. it took a very long time from start to finish. (i think around 8 or 9 months)
However in the meantime as his doctor said he was happy for him to resume driving the dvla said that he could drive under section 80 of the RTA.
The insurance required a few documents and contacted his GP but insured him to drive until he received his licence back in the post.
ive been a bit vague as I didn't deal with any of the paperwork etc but HTH
I had a stroke 10 years ago , 7 days in hospital having all sorts of tests , had the classic droop on one side of my face and lost the power of speech which returned to normal over the following weeks .
I was told by my consultant not to drive for a month and then could resume if given the all clear by my GP .
The DVLA didn't want to know , it would have been different if I was an HGV,LGV or PSV holder . My insurance company were happy for me to continue as long as my GP was happy .
The medical requirements for driving are very much dependant on which licences you hold . Group 1 which are mainly non vocational and Group 2 which are mainly vocational have vastly different medical requirements.
Due to other subsequent health problems I have lost all Grp 2 but still retain Grp 1 .
If you have subsequent brain problems within the initial recommended non driving period then a whole new set of rules apply .
The chances of further problems within a short period is quite high .
I was told by my consultant not to drive for a month and then could resume if given the all clear by my GP .
The DVLA didn't want to know , it would have been different if I was an HGV,LGV or PSV holder . My insurance company were happy for me to continue as long as my GP was happy .
The medical requirements for driving are very much dependant on which licences you hold . Group 1 which are mainly non vocational and Group 2 which are mainly vocational have vastly different medical requirements.
Due to other subsequent health problems I have lost all Grp 2 but still retain Grp 1 .
If you have subsequent brain problems within the initial recommended non driving period then a whole new set of rules apply .
The chances of further problems within a short period is quite high .
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