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Updated: May 10, 2026

Driving Simulation in the Clinic: Testing Visual Exploratory Behavior in Daily Life Activities in Patients with Visual Field Defects
Published on: September 18, 2012
Who should answer the question: "Can I drive with this plaster cast?".
M J Gandhi1, D Freitas1, M Lewis1
1Department of Trauma & Orthopaedics, Russell Hall Hospital, Dudley Group of Hospitals, Pensnett Road, Dudley, West Midlands DY1 2HQ, UK.
Patients with plaster casts often drive despite impaired ability. Doctors are responsible for advice, but patients assume liability if they drive after being advised against it due to potential driving impairment.
Area of Science:
- Orthopedics
- Road Safety
- Medical Law
Background:
- Plaster casts can impair driving ability, yet patients continue to drive.
- Responsibility for advising patients on driving with casts is unclear among doctors, DVLA, police, and insurers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate advice given by UK plaster technicians to patients about driving with casts.
- To determine the opinions of motor insurance companies and police forces on driving with casts.
Main Methods:
- Surveyed senior plaster technicians in 348 UK hospitals regarding advice on driving with casts.
- Contacted 16 motor insurance companies and 40 police forces for their perspectives.
Main Results:
- Only 10% of technicians offered unprompted advice; 48% of patients sought it.
- Technicians primarily referred patients to insurers (88%), DVLA (11.7%), doctors (10.6%), or police (5.9%).
- Insurers would cover drivers if doctors didn't object, but police lacked consensus; accidents after doctor's advice against driving led to policy invalidation and potential prosecution.
Conclusions:
- Doctors, though untrained in driving assessment, are burdened with advising patients on driving with casts.
- Given evidence of impaired driving ability, patients should be advised against driving with casts.
- Patients are fully liable if they drive after receiving explicit advice and understanding the implications.
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