They point out that most Australian states do not have specific requirements, but that in general, patient having right leg surgery need to be able to perform an emergency stop, and that might be 4 – 6 weeks following surgery.

We have previously undertaken a study demonstrating with out Local Infiltration Analgesia and re-infusion technique, that all patients by 11 days had reaction times bettering the states that have a requirement (WA & NSW 1500ms, ACT 2000ms). Right sided knee replacements were the slowest group to regain reaction time in braking on our testing machine, which required 20kg of force to the brake peddle.

Our advice remains:
1. You can’t drive if you can’t walk unaided
2. You can’t drive whilst using narcotics or narcotic patches
3. Hip replacement patients need care getting in and out of car
4. When returning to driving take additional safety techniques-

•     Avoid school zones
•     Avoid busy times
•     Drive only short distances
•     Mobile phone and radio should be turned off
•     Don’t tailgate!