Driving is a complex task. You need good vision, movement and thinking. Stroke can affect these abilities.
To drive safely, you need to be able to:
After your stroke, you may experience seizures. Seizures make it unsafe for you to drive.
You must not drive a private vehicle for at least four weeks after a stroke. Commercial drivers must not drive for at least three months.
This is because it takes time to assess the impact of stroke. The non-driving period applies to everyone after a stroke.
Four weeks for a private driver and three months for a commercial driver are just the minimum. Your non-driving period only ends when a doctor clears you to drive.
Every driver must tell the state licensing authority about medical conditions that may affect their driving. This is a legal responsibility.
If you don’t tell the licensing authority about your stroke, or you drive during your non-driving period or without medical clearance, you may face criminal charges after an accident. Your insurance will not cover you.
After a stroke, your health professionals assess your ability to drive. They:
State licensing authorities make decisions about your driver’s licence based on reports, assessments and tests.
The national Assessing Fitness to Drive standards are used by health professionals and licensing authorities to make decisions about driving and licensing. You can read the standards here: austroads.gov.au/drivers-and-vehicles/assessing-fitness-to-drive
An impairment affects your ability to do something – in this case, driving.
The advice in this section is for private drivers who have a car class licence or a light rigid class licence. It does not apply to heavy vehicle license holders – these drivers should contact the licensing authority for advice.
If your stroke caused no significant impairments, your doctor can provide a report to the licensing authority to support your return to driving on an unconditional licence.
The licensing authority may accept a report from your GP. A medical specialist can also provide a report. This is usually a neurologist or rehabilitation physician.
If you have no significant impairments and you are discharged from hospital within four weeks of having a stroke, your treating doctor in hospital may provide a report supporting your return to driving on an unconditional licence. This means you will not have to have further assessment of your fitness to drive after discharge from hospital.
While this report may be provided at discharge, you will still not be able to drive until the end of your non-driving period, as stated by your doctor.
Although you may not have significant impairments due to your stroke, you may still have licence restrictions related to other medical conditions. Talk with your doctor if you are unsure.
If your stroke has caused significant impairments, your rehabilitation team can talk to you about how your stroke has affected your ability to drive. If getting back to driving is important to you, let them know. Getting back to driving can be a rehabilitation goal.
Before you can start driving again, you will need an assessment of your ability to drive safely.
You may need to complete a driver rehabilitation program. You may need modifications to your vehicle.
This process is based on your impairments. It’s different for different people. Your health professionals can answer your questions and tell you which assessments you need. Your doctors can help you arrange them.
If your stroke caused significant impairments, the licensing authority will usually require a report from a medical specialist such as a neurologist or rehabilitation physician. Contact the licensing authority for more information.
This process will require good communication between you, your doctors, and the licensing authority.
If you have vision impairments, you will need a vision assessment. Ask your health professional what kind of assessments you need. You may need a binocular visual field assessment as well as a normal vision assessment. Your doctor can help you find an optometrist or ophthalmologist who can do the assessments you need.
You may need a practical driving assessment. This is the same as the normal on-road driver’s licence test.
You may need an OT driving assessment. This focuses on impairments affecting driving.
An OT driving assessment has two parts:
You need to pay for an OT driving assessment. If you have private health insurance, ask if this cost is covered. If you are an NDIS participant, ask if you can include a driving assessment in your plan.
Once these assessments are done, your doctor will provide a report for the licensing authority. The report will state if:
The report form is available on the state licensing authority website.
The licensing authority may make a decision about your licence based on the report from your doctor.
They may also decide they need more information. If you haven’t already completed a driving assessment, they may ask you to do so. This could be either a practical driving assessment or an OT driving assessment.
After your assessments and reports are complete, the licensing authority may decide:
If you disagree with a licensing authority decision, you can appeal. The appeal process is explained on the licensing authority website.
If your ability to drive improves, you can apply to get your licence back or have the conditions on your licence removed. Your health professionals can support this with new assessments and reports.
If you do return to driving, ask your insurance company if you need to update your policy.
Not being able to drive can limit what you can do. It can make it difficult to shop, get to appointments, visit friends and family and get back to work. It can make life hard and it is common to experience grief and loss. Talk with your health professional, and family and friends about how you are feeling.
Your health professional or the team at StrokeLine can help you plan different ways to get around and get things done. They can tell you about schemes and services that can help.
This is a complex process. It can be difficult to understand and navigate. You will need advice and support. Your health professionals, the licensing authorities and StrokeLine can help.
StrokeLine’s health professionals provide information, advice, support and referral. They can help you help you understand the return to driving process and what you need to do. If you can’t drive, they can tell you about schemes and services that can help.
Open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm Australian Eastern Time (closed on national public holidays).
Call 1800 787 653. Email strokeline@strokefoundation.org.au
austroads.gov.au/drivers-and-vehicles/assessing-fitness-to-drive
The licensing authority can help with more information.
Australian Capital Territory 13 22 81
accesscanberra.act.gov.au
New South Wales 13 22 13
nsw.gov.au/driving-boating-and-transport
Northern Territory 1300 654 628
nt.gov.au/driving
Queensland 13 23 80
tmr.qld.gov.au
South Australia 13 10 84
sa.gov.au
Tasmania 1300 135 513
transport.tas.gov.au
Victoria 13 11 71
vicroads.vic.gov.au
Western Australia 1300 852 722
transport.wa.gov.au
Download Driving after stroke fact sheet (PDF)
For more information visit the EnableMe resource topic on Driving