Understanding car travel with spinal cord injury

Understanding car travel with spinal cord injury

Driving after a spinal cord injury is possible and can really help you to be independent and return to work and leisure activities. It is one of the easiest ways to get around.

What if i don’t want to or can’t return to driving after spinal cord injury or cauda equina syndrome?

If you are unable to return to driving for whatever reason, or don’t want to, then there is the option of being driven in a wheelchair accessible vehicle (WAV) or standard car as a passenger.

Informing the DVLA / DVA

In England and Wales, the law says you must tell the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) that you have a new medical condition:

Driving with medical conditions (gov.uk)

In Northern Ireland, this is the Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA)

MEDICAL CONDITIONS

You will need to complete a form and send it to DVLA/DVA. In England and Wales, this is Form G1 for a car or motorcycle licence and form G1V for a bus, coach or lorry licence. Consult the DVA for the process to follow for Northern Ireland.

If you are currently in hospital it is helpful if you can complete the form with your occupational therapist. If you are out of hospital, then speak to your GP.

A driving assessment is recommended for everyone. It can be helpful to send off the recommendations from this assessment with the form so the DVLA have the best information about your needs (see information sheet ‘Car Travel: Getting back to driving’) for more information about driving assessments. This helps inform the DVLA of your needs more accurately for them to make the necessary changes to your licence. If they receive incorrect or incomplete information, it can lead to your licence being restricted.