Upper limb splints and the right to drive--who decides?

Management of upper limb pathology frequently requires the wearing of a splint for a period of time. Our Occupational Therapy Department fits approximately 2000 thermoplastic splints per year. A significant number of these patients drive. In a bid to try and elucidate who is thought to have and who actually has responsibility for deciding which splints are safe to drive in we sent photographic questionnaires to patients, general practitioners (GPs), the police and driver and vehicle-licensing agency (DVLA). We performed a telephone survey of insurance companies. It is the duty of the patient to contact the DVLA if they have any doubt about their ability to drive safely whilst wearing the splint. Our results demonstrate only 10% of patients and 4% of GPs are aware of this. There was strong agreement between patients, GPs and the police about which splints would probably be safe to drive in, but patients need to be reviewed on an individual basis. Our study demonstrates a lack of knowledge among patients and GPs which could expose either group to adverse legal action in the event of an accident.