Driving after stroke: Driving exposure, advice, and evaluations

Objective: Little is known about the extent to which stroke survivors return to driving and the advice and/or evaluations they receive about driving. This study sought to estimate the prevalence of driving after stroke and to determine whether stroke survivors receive advice and evaluation about driving. Design: A convenience sample of stroke survivors was surveyed regarding driving status following stroke, driving exposure, advice received about driving, and evaluation of driving performance. Participants: Two hundred ninety stroke survivors who were between 3 months to 6 years poststroke. Results: Thirty percent of stroke survivors who drove before the stroke resumed driving after the stroke. Stroke survivors are often poorly informed by health care professionals about driving, with 48% reporting that they did not receive advice about driving and 87% reporting that they did not receive any type of driving evaluation. Almost one third of poststroke drivers had high exposure, driving 6 to 7 days per week and/or 100 to 200 miles per week. Conclusions: These findings suggest that many stroke survivors are making decisions about their driving capabilities without professional advice and/or evaluation. The results also suggest that rehabilitation professionals need to devote more attention and resources to driving issues when working with stroke survivors and their families. (C) 1997 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.