Driving with a broken (left) foot | Motoring discussion | Back Room Forum

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Sun 4 Aug 2019 16:52

Driving with a broken (left) foot - johnnyrev

I managed to break a metatarsal bone in my left foot yesterday (slipped on the stairs at 2am while going to see why the puppy was barking). I’m not even going to attempt to drive either of my cars for a good few weeks, and will ask at the fracture clinic tomorrow about driving generally. But I think I will drive my wife’s auto.

I can’t find anything in the insurance small print, so might ring them as well, just to be sure. I don’t think there are any insurance implications, but others may know otherwise!

Another question is, assuming I can drive an auto, where might I find an auto van to rent? We are going camping in 3 weeks, so might need to rent an auto to fit everything in (the Yaris Hybrid isn’t big enough). An automatic car is a lot more than a van to rent, it seems, so I wondered if anyone rents auto vans?

I’m not sure camping will be much fun with my foot in a big boot, but it’s all paid for and we are going in a bigger group. At least it gives me a good reason/excuse to put my feet up!

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Sun 4 Aug 2019 17:58

Driving with a broken (left) foot - oldroverboy.

Don't even think about it. I did the same just before an important business trip in 1986.. Big mistake. Surely some one can drive? I ended up in a lot worse state and was ill too.

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Sun 4 Aug 2019 18:29

Driving with a broken (left) foot - badbusdriver

The fact that it is your wife's Yaris hybrid suggests she has a licence, so why can't she drive?. As for the camping trip, is it just you and your wife?, if so, surely you can fit everything in with seats folded and careful packing?. Otherwise, could you look into hiring a roof box?, or could some of the other members of this large camping party not take some of your stuff too?.

Hiring an auto van?, possible but unlikely, and if you could find one, it would probably cost more than renting an auto estate car.

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Sun 4 Aug 2019 18:35

Driving with a broken (left) foot - tourantass

Check with your campsite as some dont let vans on their sites, so hiring an auto estate may be a better and more comfiy option.....

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Sun 4 Aug 2019 19:19

Driving with a broken (left) foot - KB.

Why can't the OP drive an automatic with a bad foot? If disabled drivers (some with only one leg) can get round the problem why can't he? Obviously I refer to an auto. but given that both my cars are auto. I reckon I've a good idea how easy (or otherwise) it would be to tuck the left foot out of the way and carry on as normal .... it's what I do allthe time.

And as an afterthought, why the need to get the insurers involved? Where would you draw the line ..... Dear Insurance Company. I 've bruised my toe - can I carry on driving? Dear Insurance Company, I've got a tiny fracture in my ankle, can I carry on driving?

I reckon there would be plenty Insurers who would treat is as an excuse to up your premium due to " a change in circumstance".

If it was the right foot, then that's different in my book. If your head fell off, then that's different. but a temporary injury to the left foot whilst driving an automatic ...... well, I rest my case m'lud.

Edited by KB. on 04/08/2019 at 19:24

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Sun 4 Aug 2019 19:31

Driving with a broken (left) foot - bazza

The advice will be not to drive, it can't be any other really. Having said that I drove 400 miles the day after my leg came out of plaster to camp in France and that was a big mistake. My foot swelled up and I spent the holidays limping around! So he careful! I'd let someone else do the driving and keep your foot rested to be honest. Let common sense prevail as I learned the hard way being a stubborn and hopeless patient!

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Sun 4 Aug 2019 19:59

Driving with a broken (left) foot - Smileyman

Haven't driven an auto car since last October (hired auto in Iceland), I just wonder, whilst driving an auto will you need to use your left leg to steady your body, especially when you need to brake? Apart from the issue of safety there is the concern that you may hinder repair of the wound.

As a second thought, professional sports persons sometimes use oxygen therapy as an aid to their recovery from injury, this may be a good route forwards for you? Ask your hospital, there may be such facility local to you.

Edited by Smileyman on 04/08/2019 at 20:00

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Sun 4 Aug 2019 20:23

Driving with a broken (left) foot - badbusdriver

Why can't the OP drive an automatic with a bad foot? If disabled drivers (some with only one leg) can get round the problem why can't he?

The OP is not asking about driving with a 'bad foot', he is asking about driving with a broken bone in his foot. And it is quite a leap to compare that to driving with a stubbed toe!.

I don't believe anyone is saying he can't drive with a broken foot, just that, for obvious reasons, he shouldn't.

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Sun 4 Aug 2019 22:27

Driving with a broken (left) foot - Terry W

There is no law preventing you from driving with a broken foot (or most other defects!) subject to:

any overiding medical advice which must be observed
the ability to safely control the vehicle.

If driving an auto then a left foot break should not be a problem. If right foot break then you may well be limited by a capacity for emergency braking ( as foot will not take the load until healed).

Do you need to tell insurance company - if doctor says it is safe to drive probably not, if you want belt and braces peace of mind then tell them. Depending on company this could affect your premium.

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Mon 5 Aug 2019 09:22

Driving with a broken (left) foot - John F

After three weeks healing should be well under way and it won't be particularly painful any more. Clutch pedals in cars are very light these days. I would make a splinted driving shoe for the left foot by cutting out a plywood 'sole' shape, lightly glue it to the sole of a sandal and strap it to the presumably bandaged foot with a 4" crepe bandage.

Edited by John F on 05/08/2019 at 09:22

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Mon 5 Aug 2019 10:15

Driving with a broken (left) foot - Brit_in_Germany

Just put your feet up and let the wife do the driving.

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Mon 5 Aug 2019 14:30

Driving with a broken (left) foot - KB.

The OP is not asking about driving with a 'bad foot', he is asking about driving with a broken bone in his foot. And it is quite a leap to compare that to driving with a stubbed toe!.

I don't believe anyone is saying he can't drive with a broken foot, just that, for obvious reasons, he shouldn't.

I disagree. The OP DOES have a bad foot. It has a broken bone within it. A matter of semantics, I feel.

And you've chosen to overlook the manner in which I used the bruised toe analogy.... I said, in connection with notification to the insurer, that it was a matter of degree ... a bruised toe at one end of the scale and a Heipelvectomy at the other. In the case of the former, then notifying the insurer is rather unnecessary wheras the latter is an instance where the insurer would likely want to know.

And I still don't see why the OP "shouldn't" drive an auto with a bad left foot.

Edited by KB. on 05/08/2019 at 14:31

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Mon 5 Aug 2019 15:35

Driving with a broken (left) foot - johnnyrev

I’ve been back to the hospital this morning and they’ve put me in a cast, rather than a boot. I had a quick drive in the auto Yaris yesterday and that was fine, but I’m not so sure with my foot in a cast (I haven’t tried yet but it might not fit in the footwell safely).

There’s 10 of us going camping and we need both cars to fit everyone and everything in, so we are now considering what to do. We might just insure someone else in the party to drive my car.

There were lots of signs in the plaster room at the hospital saying ‘We recommend that you do not drive’.

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Mon 5 Aug 2019 17:42

Driving with a broken (left) foot - sammy1

Was it in Reach for the Sky, one of Kenneth Mores mates used to press the clutch peddle for him with his crutch!! Stacks of people driving autos with only one leg

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Mon 5 Aug 2019 18:32

Driving with a broken (left) foot - John F

It was Douglas Bader, who lost both legs being extremely foolish (an above knee and below knee amputation). He was subsequently able to fly planes and drive a very nice sports car...

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4315680/Sir-Dougl...l

If the OP now has a cast on, he has no need for a splinted shoe to spread the diminutive load required to operate a modern clutch pedal.

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Mon 5 Aug 2019 18:44

Driving with a broken (left) foot - Bromptonaut

It was Douglas Bader, who lost both legs being extremely foolish (an above knee and below knee amputation). He was subsequently able to fly planes and drive a very nice sports car...

If I recall correctly from his biography the sports car had some modifications (clutch and brake reversed?). There's a line about how the mechanic delivering it back to him drove with his legs crossed!!

The same biog, Reach for the Sky by Paul Brickhill, states that Bader struggled flying the Harvard, an American advanced trainer, because it had foot operated wheel brakes using the rudder pedals. His instructor covered for him. On UK fighters the brakes were controlled by a lever on the stick.

I'd also add that while some modern cars have featherlight clutches others do not. Both the Berlingo or the Roomster need a good few pounds albeit both are over 90k miles on original clutches - they get heavier with wear.

Edited by Bromptonaut on 05/08/2019 at 22:10

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Mon 5 Aug 2019 22:55

Driving with a broken (left) foot - John F

It was Douglas Bader, who lost both legs being extremely foolish (an above knee and below knee amputation). He was subsequently able to fly planes and drive a very nice sports car...

If I recall correctly from his biography the sports car had some modifications (clutch and brake reversed?). There's a line about how the mechanic delivering it back to him drove with his legs crossed!!

True - I have just consulted my 1964 paperback edition. But that was his MG. And a few pages later he crashed it on the Great West Road trying to avoid a car overtaking a lorry. But a few pages earlier he drove his amputee friend Peel's Humber - normal pedals but equipped with a hand throttle.

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Tue 6 Aug 2019 23:38

Driving with a broken (left) foot - Slowe

Hi Johnny

In your situation the only person who knows if you are fit to drive an automatic car or van is you. If it's an option, then I suspect that the best thing is for you to not drive until you have 2 functioning feet. However, if the only way that you can get on your holiday is for you to be the driver than I think you have to work out if this is possible. I would initially try driving your Yaris when the road is empty and If that goes ok to progress from there

If your experiments lead you to decide that you are fit to drive an automatic van on holiday then you should be clear about this assessment ( eg it would be a bad thing to be involved in an accident and to then state " the accident was my fault, I knew I shouldn't have been driving because of my bad leg")

Owen

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