Assessing Fitness to Drive - BiOptic Driving Network

MUSCULO SKELETAL DISORDERSCONDITIONMEDICAL STANDARDS: MUSCULO-SKELETAL DISORDERS21a Disability of Cervical Region21b Disability of Thoracic Region21c Disability of Lumbar Region21d Inflammatory Arthritis21e Joint Replacement21f Loss of Limbs(including functional loss)21g Loss of Thumbs and Fingers21h Painful JointsDRIVERS OF CARS AND LIGHT TRUCKS,MOTORCYCLE RIDERS*Some loss of movement of head and neck allowable ifvehicle fitted with adequate outside mirrors.Persons with interscapular pain which prevents freemovement of shoulder joints should not drive. Personswearing braces or body casts should not drive withoutrelevant specialist recommendation.Persons with severe pain, reduced mobility orneurological impairment, should not drive. Advisepersons with moderate lumbar pain to use vehicle withpower brakes, steering and automatic transmission.Should not drive if the condition directly affects theability to drive. May drive once condition stabilised.Driving assessor opinion may be needed.Driving assessor opinion is required if limitation offunction.All cases where there is loss of limb/s need to beindividually assessed. A conditional licence may beissued after assessment by an interdisciplinaryrehabilitation medicine prosthetic clinic and suitablevehicle modifications are made. Patient’s licence willbe restricted to modified vehicle.Digit losses to be assessed with regard to spinnerknobs etc. Driving assessor opinion recommended.Should not drive if the condition directly affects theability to drive. May drive once condition stabilised.Driving assessor opinion may be needed.21i Post Surgery Should not drive for 6 weeks post major orthopaedicsurgery. Driving assessor opinion is recommendedunless specialist opinion indicates that it is not necessary.21j Prostheses Driving assessor opinion required. A driving test maybe necessary.* All disabled motorcyclists will need to be assessed by a driving assessor.‘Driving assessor’ is defined in this document as a health professional who assesses thefitness to drive of those with a medical condition.Patients should be made aware about the effects of their condition on driving and advisedof their legal obligation to notify the driver licensing authority where driving is likely to beaffected. As a last resort, practitioners may themselves advise the driver licensing authority.41