From 22 June 2022 there have been changes to the fitness to drive criteria for musculoskeletal conditions.
See Summary of changes for more details
5.3 Medical standards for licensing
Requirements for unconditional and conditional licences are outlined in the following table.
Medical standards for licensing – musculoskeletal conditions Health professionals should familiarise themselves with the information in this chapter and the tabulated standards before assessing a person’s fitness to drive. | ||
|---|---|---|
| Condition | Private standards (Drivers of cars, light rigid vehicles or motorcycles unless carrying public passengers or requiring a dangerous goods driver licence – refer to definition in Table 3) | Commercial standards (Drivers of heavy vehicles, public passenger vehicles or requiring a dangerous goods driver licence – refer to definition in Table 3) |
Musculoskeletal disorders (including chronic pain, muscle weakness, arthritis) | A person is not fit to hold an unconditional licence:
A conditional licence may be considered by the driver licensing authority subject to periodic review, taking into account:
* Motorcyclists with a musculoskeletal disability will require a practical driver assessment (refer to Part A section 2.3.1. Practical driver assessments). | A person is not fit to hold an unconditional licence:
A conditional licence may be considered by the driver licensing authority subject to periodic review, taking into account:
* All commercial vehicle drivers with a musculoskeletal disability will require a practical driver assessment (refer to Part A section 2.3.1. Practical driver assessments). |
Note: The evaluation of the effectiveness of prostheses and the specification of appropriate modifications to vehicle controls is a specialist area. It is recommended that the person be referred to an occupational therapist specialising in the area and that the report from that professional be made available to the driver licensing authority (refer to Appendix 10. Specialist driver assessors).
IMPORTANT: The medical standards and management guidelines contained in this chapter should be read in conjunction with the general information contained in Part A of this publication. Practitioners should give consideration to the following:
Licensing responsibility
The responsibility for issuing, renewing, suspending or cancelling a person’s driver licence (including a conditional licence) lies ultimately with the driver licensing authority. Licensing decisions are based on a full consideration of relevant factors relating to health and driving performance.
Conditional licences
For a conditional licence to be issued, the health professional must provide to the driver licensing authority details of the medical criteria not met, evidence of the medical criteria met, as well as the proposed conditions and monitoring requirements. The presence of other medical conditions While a person may meet individual disease criteria, concurrent medical conditions may combine to affect fitness to drive – for example, hearing, visual or cognitive impairment (refer to Part A section 2.2.7. Older drivers and age-related changes and section 2.2.8. Multiple medical conditions).
The nature of the driving task
The driver licensing authority will take into consideration the nature of the driving task as well as the medical condition, particularly when granting a conditional licence. For example, the licence status of a farmer requiring a commercial vehicle licence for the occasional use of a heavy vehicle may be quite different from that of an interstate multiple combination vehicle driver. The examining health professional should bear this in mind when examining a person and when providing advice to the driver licensing authority.
Reporting responsibilities
Patients should be made aware of the effects of their condition on driving and should be advised of their legal obligation to notify the driver licensing authority where driving is likely to be affected. The health professional may themselves advise the driver licensing authority as the situation requires (refer to section 3.3 and step 6).
References and further reading
- Charlton, J. L. & Monash University Accident Research Centre. Influence of chronic illness on crash involvement of motor vehicle drivers. (Monash University, Accident Research Centre, 2010).
- Di Stefano, M. & Ross, P. VicRoads Guidelines for occupational therapy driver assessors, 3rd edition, Melbourne, Australia: Roads Corporation Victoria (2018)
- Vaezipour, A. et al. The impact of chronic pain on driving behaviour: a systematic review. Pain (2021) doi:10.1097/j.pain.
- Di Stefano, M., Stuckey, R., Kinsman, N. & Lavender, K. Vehicle modification prescription: Australian occupational therapy consensus-based guidelines. American Journal of Occupational Therapy 73, (2019).
- Di Stefano, M. Stuckey, R. & Kinsman, N. Understanding characteristics and experiences of drivers using vehicle modifications. American Journal of Occupational Therapy 73, (2019).