northcoastrehabservices

You can no longer wait until it is time to renew your licence to report a long-term or permanent medical condition that adversely affects your ability to drive safely. As soon as the condition develops, or as soon as there is an adverse change to an existing condition, you need to take steps to inform the Department of Transport and Main Roads.

If you have a medical condition which may affect your ability to drive safely, your doctor may ask that you have a driver assessment so that he or she can determine your medical fitness to drive.

A driver assessment can only be conducted by an occupational therapist with the appropriate post graduate qualification. Chris Birtles is a qualified Occupational Therapy Driving Assessor qualified to assess fitness to drive.

Driving assessments are comprised of:

1. The off-road assessment consists of a thorough screen of the physical and cognitive skills required for driving. This component takes approximately 1 hour.
2. The on-road assessment is conducted in a dual control car with the Driver Assessor and a driving instructor. It is conducted over a pre-determined route consisting of various traffic conditions and takes approximately one hour.

Some medical conditions that can adversely affect your ability to drive safely include:

• diabetes (early and late onset)
• epilepsy and stroke
• heart disease and lung disease
• arthritis and other joint problems
• eye problems (for example, cataracts)  and hearing disorders
• sleep disorders
• Parkinson's disease and other neurological disorders
• dementia and Alzheimer's disease
• depression and other mental-health problems

For more information regarding medical driving assessments please go to Transport and Main Roads website.