Car Sharing

Information for Students With Cars

Before using a car to drive to placement please consider the following points:

Ensure you have adequate Insurance. (Many policies do not cover work/placement related driving!)

You Must have Road Tax & a valid MOT

Leave plenty of time to travel to unfamiliar placements

Check the parking/parking permit arrangements for each hospital/medical practice you

Many parts of Bristol now have strictly enforced Residence parking-permit schemes, see http://www.bristol.gov.uk/ for more info.

The medical school cannot force you to drive to placement just because you have a car. Similarly, you are not obliged to give other students a lift to placement. If you choose to give other students a lift it is your responsibility to ensure you have adequate insurance to cover passengers also. Remember taking money for a journey may invalidate your insurance.

Information for Students With Cars

Many medical students without a car take a lift to hospital placements or academies with other students. Galenicals would like to remind students being driven to placements that running a car is expensive and that petrol prices are currently at an all time high.

The current estimated cost of driving an average size car is 25p/mile. Galenicals does not recommend paying people for a lift in advance of a journey as to do so would be similar to operating an unlicensed taxi service. However, we would encourage students to contribute to the cost of the journey afterwards, just because someone is already driving to the hospital doesn’t mean you shouldn’t help contribute to the cost of getting there.

Please note: This page is not formal legal advice, if you have any doubts regarding the law or driving please contact your insurance company or a solicitor.