Driving while wearing a plaster cast

[Shayne]

Broke my wrist on Friday but more or less managed to ignore it until i got back to Wales and went to hospital today which kind of makes the plaster cast and sling seem a bit of an overkill . No complaints of course the hospital staff were a pleasure to meet and very helpful but as i was leaving one nurse insisted it was illegal to drive while wearing a cast meaning full stop end of story nothing further to add .

I intend to discuss this with a Surgeon at next Mondays review and i have been searching the web for pointers instead finding nothing but contradictions .

No need to tell dvla unless the problem is likely to exist beyond 3 months , others saying insurance will be void , and NHS guidelines which suggest it depends on the individual circumstance .

Any with similar personal experiences to share ?

 

[Rob Cowell]

Broke my wrist on Friday but more or less managed to ignore it until i got back to Wales and went to hospital today which kind of makes the plaster cast and sling seem a bit of an overkill . No complaints of course the hospital staff were a pleasure to meet and very helpful but as i was leaving one nurse insisted it was illegal to drive while wearing a cast meaning full stop end of story nothing further to add .

I intend to discuss this with a Surgeon at next Mondays review and i have been searching the web for pointers instead finding nothing but contradictions .

No need to tell dvla unless the problem is likely to exist beyond 3 months , others saying insurance will be void , and NHS guidelines which suggest it depends on the individual circumstance .

Any with similar personal experiences to share ?

Ex-work colleague had one arm, and drove quite happily, and legally, so I can't believe it's illegal. I reckon letting your insurer know would be the sensible thing.

 

[madmanmart]

The less insurance know about the better.

 

[Shayne]

That's what i thought Rob it makes no sense that i could cut the cast off and drive legally , with regards to insurance i do know the law bows to medicine so if the surgeon says i am fit to drive i see no need to inform insurers .

 

[joinerman]

Which wrist Shayne Oh & i second not telling ins co

 

[Shayne]

Right hand

 

[joinerman]

So i take it your fingers & thumb are not in the cast & usable.

Oh & i haven't told my ins co that i have a couple of fingers missing, doesn't hinder me at all driving.

 

[Brian S]

Get one of those steering wheel knobs, so you can drive one handed.
That's what I did last year when my hand/wrist/forearm was in a cast when I partially severed a tendon in my left thumb.
No problem, and yes, no word to the ins

How did you manage to break it?

 

[StarCruiser]

Lynn broke hers about 12 years ago. She was told she couldn't drive, and didn't until it was relieved of its cast. You have to be careful with thumbs as the scafoid bone can die. My uncle drove with a broken arm. Probably illegally, but as no accident occurred, no questions were asked, no problems encountered. If you have no problems, no accident, then it's ok. It's ok unless you have an accident, is the thought. Only you can decide Shayne.

 

[Shayne]

Yeah the worst is past now she couldn't work out at hospital today how i could tell her exactly where it was broken (which was later confirmed with x-rays) nor how she was unable to break my finger thumb pinch . Its still a bit sore but i know it will be fine in a couple of days .

 

[Shayne]

Just dumb luck Brian turning to walk away and stepped on the edge of a curb , being drunk couldn't have helped but i can easily imagine doing the same stone cold sober .

 

[StarCruiser]

Lynn was stone cold sober when she broke hers. Very cold in fact, we were on the ice rink in Bruges. She managed to break her hip sober as well!

 

[clivehorridge]

Bad luck that Shayne, how's the guy with the broken jaw?

I used to know a guy with one arm, lost his right arm at the age of 14 to a cancer. He used to drive OK but he did have the steering knob and he drove an auto, maybe just for convenience.

No idea on the law or insurance though, especially in a temporary situation.

 

[Pat]

I've just had my left hip replaced as the cement stuffed up in the 5 year old one.When I left the hospital last Thursday,was told can't drive for 6 weeks
that's the law and seeing NZ and England basically have the same laws.The thing is in an auto you don't use your left leg but they were insistent 6 weeks.

 

[Lorin]

Small print in your insurance will likely contain an exemption for specifically this. Unless your insurer is informed and agrees to you driving, you are not insured and therefore illegal. DVLA does not specifically prohibit driving with a broken bone but they do advise that it is illegal to drive against the advice of a doctor, so if you asked or they told you and it's documented, you can't.

 

[Shayne]

I intend to wait for the surgeon's advice on Monday anyway , they are usually pretty good with me once they have looked at my medical history .

IMO a good break is knitted in 2 weeks and is stronger than it was before in 6 weeks .

 

[StarCruiser]

…they are usually pretty good with me once they have looked at my medical history .

This is, relatively speaking, no more than a broken nail to you really, considering what you've been through?

You're actually Lee Majors, aren't you? C'mon own up.

 

[Shayne]

Nah there's plenty have suffered far worse than me mate but this one is little more than a nuisance , i only went to hospital to shut swmbo up . I will go with the flow i guess but the prospect of 6 weeks of unnecessary boredom does grate a bit .

 

[StarCruiser]

Helen's probably got a point. Still, it needn't stop you working on the Beast though.

 

[Brian S]

Just dumb luck Brian turning to walk away and stepped on the edge of a curb , being drunk couldn't have helped but i can easily imagine doing the same stone cold sober .

No good story ever started with a cup of tea
Hope your mending well mate