Can I return to driving following a stroke?

The government website advises that you must stop driving immediately following a stroke and you can only begin to drive again once you are advised it is safe to do so by a health professional. https://www.gov.uk/stroke-and-driving

Some people will fully recover from a stroke whereas others may have some lasting effects. It is therefore important that you follow professional advice and ensure you are safe and legal to drive for your circumstances.

Once advised you can begin to consider driving again, you may be requested to undergo a driving assessment at a driving assessment centre. This will be to check if you can return to driving, and if so whether that will be in the conventional way or whether adaptations will be required. Driving assessment centres assess both physical and cognitive abilities.

When having any driving adaptations installed, we would always advise an automatic vehicle. Some adaptations can only be installed into an automatic vehicle.

We would always recommend advising the DVLA and your insurers if there is a change to your driving circumstances. You must advise the DVLA of certain conditions so your circumstances should be checked with a medical professional or driving assessor.

Adaptation Examples

There are different adaptations to consider if there is a physical effect following a stroke, some are listed below but if you would like to discuss your specific requirements, please contact us and we would be happy to chat to you about the different adaptations available.

Loss or restricted use of one arm:

A steering aid may assist in operating the steering wheel with one hand. The steering aid may need to be part of a remote control device so that you can also operate the secondary functions from the steering aid.

Loss or restricted use of right leg:
A left foot accelerator could be the required adaptation if operating the brake and accelerator pedals with your right foot has become difficult. This product is only recommended where someone is new to driving or there are no other suitable adaptations. We would also recommend that you have read the safety message on our left foot accelerator product page and also undergone an assessment before choosing this adaptation. If you have restricted use of your right leg, but no restrictions in using your upper body, we would always recommend the hand control over the left foot accelerator.