The primary purpose of this publication is to increase road safety in Australia by assisting health professionals to promote the responsible driving behaviour of their patients having regard to their medical fitness. Driving a motor vehicle is a complex task involving perception, good judgement, adequate response time and reasonable physical capability. A range of medical conditions, as well as certain treatments, may impair any of these factors. Impairment may affect driving ability adversely, possibly resulting in a crash causing injury or death. The responsibility for road safety and for driver licensing in the States and Territories of Australia and in New Zealand lies with the respective driver licensing authorities. This booklet is designed for medical and other health professionals who may assist their driving patients or be asked to advise the driver licensing authorities concerning drivers under their care whose medical conditions have the potential to impair their driving safety. Health professionals as well as drivers have a responsibility to ensure that compromised fitness to drive does not result in an unacceptably increased risk to the drivers themselves or other members of the public. This second edition replaces the first edition, dated 1998. It represents the latest set of national uniform guidelines on the fitness to drive of private vehicle drivers and is approved by the driver licensing authorities of all States and Territories for use throughout Australia. These guidelines and standards are intended to provide a primary source of criteria for State and Territory driver licensing authorities in assessing fitness to drive. They are also intended as a primary reference for health professionals. Individual States and Territories have requirements additional to the national guidelines. For example, in New Zealand, the Northern Territory and South Australia, laws exist that require certain health professionals to notify the local driver licensing authority concerning drivers under their care whose medical conditions impair their driving to the extent where they are likely to endanger the public. Health professionals in Northern Territory and South Australia are advised to obtain up-todate information from the local driver licensing authorities. Contact information appears on page 74 of this book. (Author/publisher) For the previous edition see ST 20000427.
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