This paper describes the German approach to licencing and medical psychological assessment, in relation to the problem of drinking and driving. German legislation on driving licences has two main aspects: (1) the penal code; and (2) the administrative law. If a driver has committed an offence or is shown to be disabled, under German law he must submit to a medical and psychological assessment, which is expected to determine (1) how far he could endanger road traffic and other road users; and (2) his probability of committing offences. Medical psychological assessment of drivers was introduced to Germany in 1955. In relation to drinking and driving, it can make one of the following judgements about a driver: 1) fit to drive; (2) unfit to drive; (3) unfit to drive at present, but capable of becoming fit to drive later on by participating in a drink-driving treatment course. The results of a medical psychological assessment are presented to the driver, who then presents them to his licencing administration, which then makes a decision about his licence. The assessment process considers how far a set of hypotheses, based on the driver's previous history, can be rejected by the latest evidence of his behaviour and attitudes, that have resulted from efforts to rehabilitate him.
Abstract