Brush Up on Driving Skills After Illness, Disability, or Feeling Rusty

The specific skills you need to drive will be evaluated

Whether it’s a medical return to driving or teaching you how to use adaptive equipment, you can also expect a thorough clinical assessment.

“We don’t just jump in the car — the first half of the assessment is in the clinic,” says Cassidy. 

Making sure you can move well. “We think driving’s easy, but we’re moving our arms and our legs at the same time and holding a steering wheel, so I’ll look at how people are walking, how they’re rising from a chair and sitting back down,” says Touchinsky. 

To judge how quickly someone can move from the gas to the brake pedal, Touchinsky uses a reaction timer. She asks drivers to put their foot on the gas pedal and move to the brake when a light turns red, and she measures their reaction times.  

Checking your vision. This includes a vision test to check depth perception, peripheral vision and spatial skills.

Ensuring your cognitive ability is up to speed. Your memory and other cognitive functions will also be evaluated. 

“We’re trying to figure out where are they with their judgment, their attention and their capacity to hold on to information while they’re working through something,” explains Touchinsky.  

“It takes a lot of focus when you’re driving, and we take that for granted when things are going well.” 

You’ll have a copilot at first

When you first get back behind a wheel, you’ll drive the instructor’s car, which has a safety brake on the passenger side. 

Touchinsky prefers meeting her clients at their home so they can cruise through a familiar neighborhood during the sessions. 

She says having home court advantage gives them confidence as they’re getting back into driving. She’ll often start by having them drive to the bank, to church or to the grocery story before going on the highway.

Instructors will be checking to assess your quick-thinking skills and reaction time. 

Cassidy evaluates her clients’ decision-making process when they’re at a complex intersection, while they’re following directions and when they’re pulling into a gas station. 

“We check thinking on the fly and fatigue over time, and we’ll also drive through a variety of environments to get an idea of where that person is related to the deficits we saw in the clinic,” she says. 

You’ll get an overall assessment before getting back on the road

Once the clinical and on-road assessments are complete, your instructor will discuss how the two parts match up, says Cassidy.  

“Some people who didn’t test well on paper drove really well, so we’ll discuss being able to compensate for some of these deficits, but watch them over time,” she says.  

Above all, adds Touchinsky, instructors want to make sure you’re comfortable and confident. “We want people to be as independent as possible, but we must balance that with safety,” she says.

The cost of driving evaluations and lessons varies, but it’s generally in the $200 to $500 range for an evaluation and $100 to $300 for driving sessions.

These services are not usually covered by insurance, but your insurance company may offer a discount.

It can also depend on your situation. Assessments and lessons for older adults who just want to evaluate their skills are different than if you are relearning how to drive with a new disability. It is also worth noting that some private insurance policies might cover the cost.  

Bottom line: It is worth a call to your insurance provider to ask.