Conditions and Diseases
Agoraphobia
- Ask your doctor if you’re not sure if your agoraphobia will affect your driving.
Alcohol problems
Alzheimer’s disease
Amputations
- You must tell DVLA if you’ve had a limb amputated.
Angiomas or cavernomas
Ankylosing spondylitis
Anorexia nervosa
- Ask your doctor if you’re not sure if your eating disorder will affect your driving.
Anxiety
- Ask your doctor if you’re not sure if your anxiety will affect your driving.
Aortic aneurysm
- You must tell your driving authority if your aortic aneurysm is 6 centimetres or more in diameter despite treatment (this can vary from country to country and from state to state).
- You must not drive if your aortic aneurysm is 6.5 centimetres or more in diameter (this can vary from country to country and from state to state).
- Ask your doctor or consultant if you’re not sure.
Arachnoid cyst
Arrhythmia
- You must tell your driving authority about your arrhythmia if one of the following applies:
- You have distracting or disabling symptoms
- Your arrhythmia means you might not be able to safely stop or control a vehicle
- Talk to your doctor if you’re not sure if your arrhythmia causes other symptoms that will affect your driving.
Arteriovenous malformation
Arthritis
- You must tell your driving authority if you use special controls for driving.
- Talk to your doctor if you’re not sure if your arthritis will affect your driving
Ataxia (group of disorders that affect co-ordination, balance and speech)
ADHD
AIDS
Bipolar disorder (manic depression)
Blood clots
Blood pressure
- You must stop driving if a doctor says you have malignant hypertension. You can drive again when both the following apply:
- Your doctor confirms that your condition is well controlled (this can vary from country to country and from state to state).
- Your blood pressure is consistently below 180/110mmHg (this can vary from country to country and from state to state).
Brachial plexus injury (shoulder nerve damage/injury)
Brain abscess, cyst or encephalitis
Brain aneurysm
Brain haemorrhage
Traumatic brain injury
Brain tumour
Broken limbs
- Ask your medical doctor on when it is safe one to drive if the damage is not long term.
Brugada syndrome
Burr hole surgery
Cancer
- You develop problems with your brain or nervous system
- Your doctor says you might not be fit to drive
- You’re restricted to certain types of vehicles or vehicles that have been adapted for you
- Your medication causes side effects which could affect your driving
- Ask your doctor if you’re not sure if your cancer will affect your driving.
Cataracts
- You must tell your driving authority about your eye condition if it affects both of your eyes.
- If you only have sight in one eye, you must tell your driving authority.
- If you have a condition affecting that eye.
Cataplexy (sudden loss of muscle tone while a person is awake leads to weakness and a loss of voluntary muscle control. It is often triggered by sudden, strong emotions such as laughter, fear, anger, stress, or excitement)
Central venous thrombosis
- You only need to tell your driving authority and/or if you’re still having problems 1 month after a central venous thrombosis (this can vary from country to country and from state to state).
Cerebral palsy
Cognitive problems
Congenital heart disease
- You must tell your driving authority if you have any congenital heart disease and have symptoms that affect safe driving.
Fits, seizures or convulsions and driving
Déjà vu and driving
- You must tell your diving authority if you have seizures or epilepsy that cause déjà vu.
Defibrillators (if have a portable one installed)
Dementia
Depression
Diabetes
You need to tell your driving authority if:
- Your insulin treatment lasts (or will last) over 3 months (this can vary from country to country and from state to state).
- You had gestational diabetes (diabetes associated with pregnancy) and your insulin treatment lasts over 3 months after the birth (this can vary from country to country and from state to state).
- You get disabling hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar) – or a medical professional has told you that you’re at risk of developing it.
Diplopia (double vision)
Dizziness or vertigo
Drug use/illicit drug use or medication that your must take that can cause drowsiness or affect you to drive on a regular basis.
- Do not drive if taking medication that affects your ability to drive
- Do not drive if taking short term medication that affect your ability to drive
Empyema (brain)
Essential tremor (shaking)
Eye conditions
- You must tell your driving authority about your eye condition if it affects both of your eyes (not dry eyes unless causing blurred vision).
- There are many eye conditions
- If you only have sight in one eye, you must tell your driving authority if you have a condition affecting that eye.
Guillain Barré syndrome
Head injury
Heart attack(s)
You should stop driving for:
- 1 week if you had angioplasty, it was successful and you don’t need any more surgery (this can vary from country to country and from state to state).
- 4 weeks if you had angioplasty after a heart attack but it wasn’t successful (this can vary from country to country and from state to state).
- 4 weeks if you had a heart attack but didn’t have angioplasty (this can vary from country to country and from state to state).
- Check with your doctor to find out when it’s safe for you to start driving again.
Heart failure
You need to tell your driving authority about your heart failure if you have symptoms and they:
- Affect your ability to drive safely
- Distract you when driving
- Happen when you’re not doing any activity (‘at rest’)
Heart palpitations
You need to tell your driving authority about your heart palpitations if you have symptoms and they:
- Affect your ability to drive safely
- Distract you when driving
- Happen when you’re not doing any activity (‘at rest’)
Hemianopia (where there is a loss of one half of your visual field – caused by damage to the brain, for example, by a stroke, trauma or tumour. The extent of field loss can vary and depends of the area of your brain that has been affected)
High blood pressure (hypertension)
- You do not need to tell DVLA if you have high blood pressure.
You must stop driving if a doctor says you have malignant hypertension. You can drive again when both the following apply:
- Your doctor confirms that your condition is well controlled
- Your blood pressure is consistently below 180/110mmHg
Hodgkin’s lymphoma
You must tell your driving authority if you have Hodgkin’s lymphoma and any of the following also apply:
- You develop problems with your brain or nervous system
- Your doctor says you might not be fit to drive
- You’re restricted to certain types of vehicles or vehicles that have been adapted for you
- Your medication causes side effects which could affect your driving
Huntington’s disease
Hydrocephalus (build-up of fluid in the brain. The excess fluid puts pressure on the brain, which can damage it)
Hypoglycaemia
Hypoxic brain damage (lack of oxygen to the brain causing brain damage)
Intracerebral haemorrhage (bleeding in the brain)
- If Problems develop a month after an intracerebral haemorrhage- (this can vary from country to country and from state to state).
Korsakoff’s syndrome
Labyrinthitis (inner ear infection that affects your balance)- (symptoms are longer than 3 months- (this can vary from country to country and from state to state).
Learning disabilities (that will affect your driving only)
Lewy body dementia
Limb disability
Long QT syndrome
Lung cancer
- You must tell your driving authority if you have lung cancer and any of the following apply:
- You develop problems with your brain or nervous system
- Your doctor says you might not be fit to drive
- You’re restricted to certain types of vehicles or vehicles that have been adapted for you
- Your medication causes side effects which could affect your driving
Lymphoma
- You must tell your driving authority about your lymphoma if:
- You develop problems with your brain or nervous system
- Your doctor has expressed concerns about your fitness to drive
- You can only drive a specially adapted vehicle or a certain type of vehicle
- Your medication causes side effects that might make it unsafe for you to drive
Marfan’s syndrome
Medulloblastoma (common type of primary brain tumor)
Meningioma (common type of primary brain tumor)
Motor neurone disease
Muscular dystrophy
Myasthenia gravis
Myoclonus (quick, involuntary muscle jerks)
Narcolepsy
Night blindness
Obsessive compulsive disorder
Excessive sleepiness
- Excessive sleepiness means that you have had difficulty concentrating and have found yourself falling asleep – for example while at work, watching television or when driving.
- You must tell the driving authority if you have:
- Confirmed moderate or severe obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS), with excessive sleepiness
- Either narcolepsy or cataplexy, or both
- Any other sleep condition that has caused excessive sleepiness for at least 3 months – including suspected or confirmed mild OSAS- (this can vary from country to country and from state to state).
- You must not drive until you’re free from excessive sleepiness or until your symptoms are under control and you’re strictly following any necessary treatment.
Optic atrophy (a condition that affects the eye nerve which carries electrical impulses from ones eye to the brain)
Pacemakers
Paranoid schizophrenia
Paraplegia (paralysis that affects your ability to move the lower half of your body)
Parkinson’s disease
Peripheral neuropathy
Personality disorder
Pituitary tumour (abnormal growths that develop in your pituitary gland)
Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Psychosis [(people lose some contact with reality, might involve seeing or hearing things that other people cannot see or hear (hallucinations) and believing things that are not actually true (delusions)]
Psychotic depression
Pulmonary arterial hypertension (And also you’re receiving treatment from a specialist centre)- (High blood pressure in the lungs)
Severe memory problems
Stroke
- Had a stroke and/or having problems 1 month after the stroke- (this can vary from country to country and from state to state).
Surgery
- Had an operation and you’re still unable to drive 3 months later includeing a caesarean section- (this can vary from country to country and from state to state).
Syncope (fainting or passing out)
Seizures/epilepsy
- Seizures and/oror epilepsy and/or that cause déjà vu.
- Déjà vu is a neurological anomaly related to epileptic electrical discharge in the brain, creating a strong sensation that an event or experience currently being experienced has already been experienced in the past.
Sleep disorders
- Confirmed moderate or severe obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS),
- Narcolepsy
- Cataplexy (loss of muscle tone)
- Any other sleep condition that has caused excessive sleepiness for at least three months- (this can vary from country to country and from state to state).
- You should also notify them if you’re taking medication that has caused excessive sleepiness for three months- (this can vary from country to country and from state to state).
Schizo-affective disorder
Schizophrenia
Scotoma (partial loss of vision or blind spot in an otherwise normal visual field)
Severe communication disorders
Spinal conditions, injuries or spinal surgery
Subarachnoid haemorrhage (uncommon type of stroke caused by bleeding on the surface of the brain)
Tachycardia (fast beating og the heart)
Tourette’s syndrome
Tunnel vision [loss of peripheral (outer) vision with retention of central vision]
Usher syndrome (rare genetic disease that affects both hearing and vision)
Reduced visual acuity
Vertigo
Visual field defect
VP shunts (thin plastic tube that helps drain extra cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from the brain)
Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome
