Driving with a cast on her leg

[23 Romeo Tango]

A couple of weeks ago my wife tripped over two of our dogs and the following morning it was pretty obvious that she had broken her ankle.

Following the usual trip to A&E, scans and finally getting a fiberglass (I believe) cast applied she headed home and put her feet up. The following two weeks have been torture for her, needing to be waited on hand and foot (boom, boom). Our Son visiting every so often to do a shop run and friends taking her out for coffee and such like.

I'm currently out of the country, so I scored there big time, but I got a message from her a couple of nights ago saying that one of the dogs has been vomiting blood and she needs to go to the vets first thing in the morning.

That's fine, but I ask "Is our Son available to take you", no answer. A few hours later she tells me the dog has stopped vomiting blood and things have settled down, but she will still take the dog to the vets in the morning. "Ok, is our Son available to take you"..........a long pause........then, 'Good night' is the reply.

Morning comes and I get the message from my wife that she has just arrived at the vets and she will let me know any news as soon and there is anything to tell. "How did you get to the vets?"..........Silence.

Guess who drove to the vets with cast on her leg?
"It was an emergency, I had no other choice"

Sorry for the drawn out blubber above, but I thought it best to set the scene.

Obviously I showed my disapproval and to scare her into not doing it again I told her that she probably wouldn't be insured in the event of any accident. That got me thinking, I know it's common knowledge that insurance companies will try to get out of a payout any way they can, but would they have a good argument in this case.

What are your thoughts?
Is it illegal, is it foolish or don't you see anything wrong with driving with restricted leg movement.

Left leg in cast.
Automatic car.

p.s. The dog is picking up after an anti-sickness injection and some anti-acid medication.

 

[PobodY]

Did she receive medical advice not to drive? - Although it may appear obvious that she shouldn't drive with her leg in a cast, if nobody officially told her she couldn't then that's a loophole.

I have some sympathy for your wife; I'd be going stir crazy stuck in the house and would be sorely tempted to try driving an automatic if my right leg was still good.

 

[23 Romeo Tango]

I don't believe she was advised not to drive.

I must admit, it would drive me crazy being confined to the sofa and I would be tempted to throw the crutches on the back seat and hit the roads.

 

[Deleted96908]

I fractured one ankle and dislocated the other recently and didn't drive for 7 or 8 weeks. Ankles, achilles etc, are nasty injuries. Not only can't you put any weight on them unless cased up (I wasn't), but you can't bend them easily either, meaning getting in and out of bed, cars etc, is a real pain. Mind you couch potatoing for a few weeks whilst all and sundry attend to your every groan, has it's benefits. (Just checked the spelling of potatoing - not what I had in mind ). So three months on and I'm still stumbling round like an alchy in the park, so sympathies to your wife and the pooch.

 

[anglaslt]

I don't believe she was advised not to drive.

I must admit, it would drive me crazy being confined to the sofa and I would be tempted to throw the crutches on the back seat and hit the roads.

From DVLA website:

You must tell DVLA if you’ll be unable to drive for more than 3 months because of a broken limb (I doubt this applies).

You can be fined up to £1,000 if you don’t tell DVLA about a medical condition that affects your driving. You may be prosecuted if you’re involved in an accident as a result.

Ask your doctor if you’re not sure how long you’ll be unable to drive.

I guess the deciding factor is can you drive safely and in full control of the vehicle and, in the case of an automatic, I don't see why not. The problem will be in the case of an accident where insurance may try to argue differently if only to reduce their liability. It's a risk.

I've driven with a broken wrist in a cast which most probably I shouldn't have and I probably wouldn't have in UK.

 

[23 Romeo Tango]

You can be fined up to £1,000 if you don’t tell DVLA about a medical condition that affects your driving. You may be prosecuted if you’re involved in an accident as a result.

I suspected that there would be a statement as above somewhere either from DLVA or maybe in the small print of our insurance contract (probably both), but who decides if a cast on your left leg affects your driving of an automatic car which we all know only requires your right leg/foot?

Just saying.


Edit......Just seen your edit, which I guess answers my reply in this post.

 

[saff]

Respect to her, she obviously loves her dog. I'd have probably done the same under those circumstances.

 

[GP801]

DVLA does not need to be notified of a fracture. If you can safely drive and in this case I dont see why not, then there should not be a problem.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

I was going to say if it’s her left leg and it’s an emergency, sometimes you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.

Hope the dog is ok too.

 

[Colesy]

I would call my insurance providers and ask them. The worst they can say is no, or yes for an additional premium and an unrealistic admin fee.

 

[23 Romeo Tango]

TBH I'd rather she didn't make a habit of it. She drives a pick-up with 33" tyres/wheels so it's a bit of a hike up onto the drivers seat. Slippy running boards are a recipe for disaster.

 

[Deleted96908]

I was at the docs last week and some of the folks who drove to the surgery makes you wonder whether they are in full control of their vehicles. I reckon you've got more chance of the local pub landlord taking away your keys than getting advice from a doctor that you must not drive. From my experience they use words like shouldn't, rather than must not. Perhaps some sort of national DB connected to the surgery with current notifications/advisories would help. But given the recent report suggesting that thousands may have died due to incomplete transfer of records between hospitals and doctors, that seems some way off.

 

[James Copeland]

What was wrong with a taxi?

 

[jpwilliams]

If her left leg had been amputated in the past, she could have driven safely unless she used left foot for braking (as some drivers of autos do ) !

 

[23 Romeo Tango]

What was wrong with a taxi?

I don't think she should be driving that either !!

Joking aside, it's a 32 mile round trip (not sure how much that would have cost) and her pick-up was just sitting there.

 

[23 Romeo Tango]

If her left leg had been amputated in the past, she could have driven safely unless she used left foot for braking (as some drivers of autos do ) !

I also had this thought, I could be wrong but AFAIK people with permanent or semi-permanent disabilities would need to take a test showing that they are capable of driving safely with said condition.

 

[Petrol Pete]

What was wrong with a taxi?

Taxi driver would probably not have taken the dog. They can be fussy like that, especially if dog is puking up blood .

 

[E53AMG]

I think you know the answer, insurers would say unsafe to drive, as would police who would have prosecuted if they stopped her. Had the same argument with my wife following her recent left elbow replacement, as soon as the cast was removed she was back on the car though for retail therapy.

I would have preferred a permanent driving disqualification for her, much better on the wallet!

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk

 

[grober]

Assuming the ankle that was broken was the relevant one i.e. the right ankle/foot controlling the accelerator and footbrake then it would depend on the extent of the injury/break. If for example she was not able to put her entire weight on it- i.e. stand on her "gammy leg" it could be argued that while able to control the car in normal circumstances in the event of a situation requiring her to "stand on the brakes" in an emergency stop she would not have been able to do so through weakness or pain. [ e.g. kid runs out in the road in front of her without warning] She may not have been given express instructions not to drive but warned about not puting any weight on it for a while for example.
While the DVLA has specific instances where certain medical conditions have to be declared there is a general onus on any driver to decide whether they are fit to drive or not. While this decision is down to the individual driver to make ---- in the event of an accident they will find that other parties will decide on whether their judgement was correct be it the police, the DVLA or insurance company.

 

[clk320x]

Hope the dog is ok now, sometimes you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.

Wishing a speedy recovery to your wife.