{"id":2808,"date":"2016-08-01T07:00:20","date_gmt":"2016-07-31T18:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.drivingtests.co.nz\/resources\/?p=2808"},"modified":"2024-04-13T23:34:30","modified_gmt":"2024-04-13T10:34:30","slug":"can-you-drive-after-having-a-head-injury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.drivingtests.co.nz\/resources\/can-you-drive-after-having-a-head-injury\/","title":{"rendered":"Can you drive after having a head injury?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A brain injury need not mean the end of driving. Some skills can be regained or relearned, including driving.&nbsp;Getting back on the road again can improve independence for people who have suffered a brain injury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Driving requires a number of core skills which can be affected by a brain injury, and need to be tested before a driver is allowed back on the road:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>good front and peripheral (side) vision<\/li><li>quick decision-making<\/li><li>ability to judge and anticipate situations on the road<\/li><li>quick reactions<\/li><li>good coordination<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If the head injury requires medication it&#8217;s important to check that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.drivingtests.co.nz\/resources\/driving-after-taking-medicine\/\">medication doesn&#8217;t affect driving ability<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because head injuries can cause so many effects, tests have to be done to establish that it&#8217;s not affecting driving ability. For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Vision problems &#8211; misjudging distance or speed, or having portions of vision missing on one side<\/li><li>Thinking problems &#8211; slower thinking and decision-making, sensory overload, concentration loss and short-term memory loss<\/li><li>Epilepsy &#8211; read our guide on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.drivingtests.co.nz\/resources\/can-you-drive-with-epilepsy\/\">driving with epilepsy<\/a>.<\/li><li>Physical problems &#8211; coordination issues, delayed reactions or reflexes, muscle weakness<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nzta.govt.nz\/assets\/resources\/medical-aspects\/Medical-aspects-of-fitness-to-drive-a-guide-for-health-practitioners.pdf\">Neurological and related conditions<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How do you return to driving after a brain injury?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Consult a doctor and get either written medical clearance or a referral to an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.otnzwna.co.nz\/find-an-occupational-therapist\/?ul_filter_find_an_ot_services_provided=Driver%20assessment%20and%20vehicle%20modification\">occupational therapist<\/a><\/li><li>Check with your insurance company that they will cover your vehicle if you drive<\/li><li>Check with your ACC case manager (if relevant) if there is any funding available to help you with the required tests and reports<\/li><li>Get a neurologist&#8217;s report or\u00a0an <a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nzta.govt.nz\/driver-licences\/getting-a-licence\/medical-requirements\/occupational-therapy-assessments\/\" target=\"_blank\">occupational therapy assessment<\/a> (whichever are required)<\/li><li>Check that any medications you have to take won&#8217;t affect your driving<\/li><li>Avoid driving when circumstances mean you won&#8217;t have normal concentration, e.g. any alcohol consumption, when you are tired, etc<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">If you are not allowed to drive<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Not being able to drive can be frustrating and cause issues. There are alternatives to driving if you have had a head injury:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Some charity groups provide free or discounted transport<\/li><li>ACC may provide a disability allowance to cover travel costs<\/li><li>The Head Injury Society might be able to provide Total Mobility Vouchers which give a reduction in taxi fares if you&#8217;re unable to use public transport<\/li><li>Alternative methods such as Uber or car pooling websites are worth checking out<\/li><li>Can some journeys be replaced by walking?<\/li><li>Do you have family or friends that can help you?<\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A brain injury need not mean the end of driving. Some skills can be regained or relearned, including driving.&nbsp;Getting back on the road again can improve independence for people who have suffered a brain injury. Driving requires a number of<span class=\"ellipsis\">&hellip;<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.drivingtests.co.nz\/resources\/can-you-drive-after-having-a-head-injury\/\">Read more &#8250;<\/a><\/div>\n<p><!-- end of .read-more --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2810,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,376],"tags":[129],"class_list":["post-2808","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advice","category-health","tag-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drivingtests.co.nz\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2808","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drivingtests.co.nz\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drivingtests.co.nz\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drivingtests.co.nz\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drivingtests.co.nz\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2808"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.drivingtests.co.nz\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2808\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31818,"href":"https:\/\/www.drivingtests.co.nz\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2808\/revisions\/31818"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drivingtests.co.nz\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drivingtests.co.nz\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drivingtests.co.nz\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drivingtests.co.nz\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}