www.jec.org.uk

Does anybody have 'numbers' for the force required on the brake pedal to achieve an emergency stop on an XK8 (1996). Having broken my leg last year I have only recently driven my P&J, and all ok but saw an article re: driving after surgery which indicates various . I have had 50% weight bearing soon after surgery which I had imagined would be sufficient to operate a good servo assisted brake system, and I imagine approx. 70 lbs pressure would be sufficient which is only 5 stone. Nobody has ever advised me not to drive and although clearly this is impossible following surgery my understanding is you are ok with DVLA provided the situation does not last more than 3 months. I have driven my wife's car in the interim but not the Jag. as it needed work. I guess the insurers may need to know details to enable them to slap on a premium but provided you are in full control of the car and can achieve an emergency stop without your leg falling off what else matters?

I have sympathy with your conundrum as my own spinal collapse and attendant vicious sciatic pain greatly affect what I can and cannot now do. Whilst my pain never subsides, it certainly doesn`t affect my ability to control a car and I certainly don`t see why I should have an insurance premium increase just because my toes hurt! I`d be the first one to give up driving if I felt my condition made me unsafe. I was vastly more unsafe when I was a new teenage driver than I am now at nearly sixty!!

Reference to the DVLA site gives a long list of notifiable conditions. Many people will have one of those conditions and possibly more. I wonder how many drivers currently operate on UK roads with one or more conditions being present and whether they have informed the DVLA and insurance company that their condition exists? Not many I would think....otherwise our roads would be empty!

I think the thing is to assess yourself initially and off highway, see whether you can positively carry out an emergency stop successfully and without inflicting damage to yourself in the process. After that, assuming you can recognise whether you will always able to keep control of your car in all situations, only you can decide whether an issue exists and whether your condition is ever likely to be the contributory cause of any future accident. You can then have an informed and well planned discussion with the DVLA and your insurance company.

Mike K

It's odd that this subject has come up at a time when I can comment. My wife has just had a de attached retina in her eye operated on yesterday and today after the post op check up has been told it looks like a 100% success rate for the op. When asking the surgeon when she can drive his answer was approximately 6 weeks, and had the operation not been such a success he would have to inform DVLA which would lead to her being disqualified from driving. No here's the rub, had she lost her eye completely she would still be able to drive legally. How do the idiots work that one out.

Gordon