Assessing Fitness to Drive

Table of Contents

Front matter
Foreword
Part A. Fitness to drive principles and practices
1. About this publication
- 1.1. Purpose
- 1.2. Target audience
- 1.3. Scope
- 1.4. Content
- 1.5. Development and evidence base
2. Assessing fitness to drive – general guidance
- 2.1. The driving task
- 2.2. Impact of medical conditions on driving
- 2.3. Assessing and supporting functional driver capacity
3. Roles and responsibilities
- 3.1. Roles and responsibilities of driver licensing authorities
- 3.2. Roles and responsibilities of drivers
- 3.3. Roles and responsibilities of health professionals
4. Licensing and medical fitness to drive
- 4.1. Medical standards for private and commercial vehicle drivers
- 4.2. Considerations for commercial vehicle licensing
- 4.3. Prescribed periodic medical examinations for particular licensing authorisation classes
- 4.4. Conditional licences
- 4.5. Reinstatement of licences or removal or variation of licence conditions
5. Assessment and reporting process – step by step
- 5.1. Steps in the assessment and reporting process
- 5.2. Which forms to use
References and further reading
Part B. Medical standards
Fitness to drive assessment
1. Blackouts
- 1.1. Relevance to the driving task
- 1.2. General assessment and management guidelines
- 1.3. Medical standards for licensing
2. Cardiovascular conditions
- 2.1. Relevance to the driving task
- 2.2. General assessment and management guidelines
- 2.3. Medical standards for licensing
3. Diabetes mellitus
- 3.1. Relevance to the driving task
- 3.2. General assessment and management guidelines
- 3.3. Medical standards for licensing
4. Hearing loss and deafness
- 4.1. Relevance to the driving task
- 4.2. General assessment and management guidelines
- 4.3. Medical standards for licensing
5. Musculoskeletal conditions
- 5.1. Relevance to the driving task
- 5.2. General assessment and management guidelines
- 5.3. Medical standards for licensing
6. Neurological conditions
- 6.1. Dementia
- 6.2. Seizures and epilepsy
- 6.3. Other neurological and neurodevelopmental conditions
7. Psychiatric conditions
- 7.1. Relevance to the driving task
- 7.2. General assessment and management guidelines2,6,7
- 7.3. Medical standards for licensing
8. Sleep disorders
- 8.1. Relevance to the driving task
- 8.2. General assessment and management guidelines
- 8.3. Medical standards for licensing
9. Substance misuse
- 9.1. Relevance to the driving task
- 9.2. General assessment and management guidelines
- 9.3. Medical standards for licensing
10. Vision and eye disorders
- 10.1. Relevance to the driving task
- 10.2. General assessment and management guidelines
- 10.3. Medical standards for licensing
Part C. Appendices
Appendix 1. Regulatory requirements for driver testing
Appendix 2. Forms
Appendix 3. Legislation relating to reporting
Appendix 4. Drivers’ legal BAC limits
Appendix 5. Alcohol interlock programs
Appendix 6. Disabled car parking and taxi services
Appendix 7. Seatbelt use
Appendix 8. Helmet use
Appendix 9. Driver licensing authority contacts
Appendix 10. Specialist driver assessors
Appendix 11. Search Fitness to Drive resources

2. Cardiovascular conditions

From 22 June 2022 there have been changes to the fitness to drive criteria for the following conditions:

Implantable cardioverter defibrillator (commercial vehicle drivers)
Ventricular assist devices (private vehicle drivers)
Congenital disorders (private and commercial vehicle drivers)

See Summary of changes and download the fact sheet for more details.

Assessing Fitness to Drive

2. Cardiovascular conditions

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