Wednesday, 13 July 2022
Australia enjoys a strong international reputation for initiatives relating to medical fitness to drive, and this financial year will see another significant step forward with a new body of work led by Austroads aimed at facilitating implementation of the national Assessing Fitness to Drive standards.
Together with relevant stakeholders, including State and Territory driver licensing authorities, the National Transport Commission, health professionals, the transport industry, academia and consumers, Austroads will drive a number of projects designed to address barriers to the consistent application of the standards at various levels. In doing so they will pursue the shared goals of supporting the safety of drivers with medical conditions and the safety of other road users.
Awareness and education are key domains of the Implementation Strategy that was endorsed by the Austroads Board in February this year. Health professionals will be an early focus of these efforts, which will seek to build confidence in addressing fitness to drive and embed early conversations into routine management of health conditions, impairments or disabilities likely to affect driving. Such conversations, delivered in a timely, consistent and supportive way are likely to encourage drivers to meet their road safety obligations and engage with management approaches such as conditional licensing, driving restrictions and more regular medical review, enabling them to drive for as long as it is safe to do so.
Collaboration will underpin the Strategy, with the establishment of a community of practice to enable knowledge sharing and partnership building. Collaboration of driver licensing authorities through the early implementation of Assessing Fitness Drive 2022 has already demonstrated value in this regard. The broader Implementation Advisory Group will also inform the body of work and support collaboration across stakeholder groups.
Download Assessing Fitness to Drive: Implementation Strategy 2022
Enquiries about the Strategy may be directed to the Project Manager, An Rendell.