Do we fall into the Raymond Babbitt trap judging our own driving?

Did you drive after your stroke? Immediately? A month? Longer? Ever?

I drove fairly soon after mine, but driving didn't seem to be part of my concerns. I had trouble reading smaller print and lengthy items, but traffic signs and signals didn't present a challenge.

But that isn't true for everyone. Or maybe even most. Perhaps I was just fortunate in my particular case. One recent study indicates that stroke survivors more likely to make dangerous driving errors:

"Current guidelines recommend that patients should refrain from driving for a minimum of one month after stroke. However, many patients resume driving within the one-month period after stroke, and few patients report receiving driving advice from a physician immediately post-stroke," said Megan A. Hird, B.Sc., lead author of one of the abstracts and a master's student at University of Toronto doing research at St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Canada.

Hird and colleagues (abstract TP123) compared the driving performance of 10 mild ischemic stroke patients, within seven days of a stroke, to 10 people similar in age and education who had not had stroke. Using driving simulation technology, participants completed several driving tasks, from routine right and left turns to more demanding left turns with traffic, where most accidents occur, and a bus following task, requiring sustained attention.

They found:

Driving tests for stroke survivors?

I did wonder about driving after my stroke - could I remember where to go and how to get there? Turns out, my fleeting worries about this didn't pan out. However, for many, many stroke survivors, these concerns are too real.

I never took any sort of driving test to make sure my abilities were intact. In fact, a recent study highlighted that many stroke survivors resume driving without testing:

From U.S. Department of Transportation

Researchers from the Medical University of South Carolina found that more than half of the 162 stroke survivors in their study returned to driving following their stroke, with 59 percent of those returning within one month. Less than 6 percent of all stroke survivors received any formal driving evaluation before getting behind the wheel again.

"It's been my experience that even though one of the very first questions stroke patients ask is when they can go back to driving, very few will actually go and get a formal driving evaluation," said study author Dr. Shelly Ozark, an assistant professor of neurology.

"Some of that is the nature of stroke itself," she said. "Even though it can be a devastating illness, some people think if they have no problem walking or seeing, they're not affected. People don't necessarily recognize they have deficits."

For stroke survivors: Was this a concern of yours? And would you be OK taking a test?