In Queensland, anyone with a permanent or long-term medical condition that could impact on driving, must notify Queensland Transport and Main Roads with a Medical Certificate for Motor Vehicle Driver. Nationally, the Assessing fitness to drive for commercial and private vehicle drivers (2022) outlines the requirements of specific medical conditions and the requirements for licensing for both private and commercial vehicle licence holders.
AustRoads Assessing Fitness to Drive Guidelines Definition of Driving:
Driving a motor vehicle is a complex task involved perception, appropriate judgement, adequate response time and appropriate physical capability. A range of medical conditions, disabilities and treatments may influence these driving prerequisites. Such impairment may adversely affect driving ability, possibly resulting in a crash causing injury or death.
There are many conditions that may impact on driving such as blackouts/seizures, diabetes, eye/vision problems, heart disease, neurological —dementia, stroke, or epilepsy, psychiatric disorders, sleep disorders and alcohol or drug dependency.
Anyone who has a medical condition that could impact on driving must have their treating doctor complete a Queensland Transport Medical Certificate for Motor Vehicle Driver (F3712) to continue driving. This also includes individuals over the age of 75, who must have an annual medical certificate form their treating doctor. Some conditions may require a medical specialist to complete this form. Once your doctor has completed the medical certificate form, you must submit this to Queensland Transport either in person, or scan and email the completed form to mcr@tmr.qld.gov.au. Under the conditions section on your licence, there will be an M.
The tear of section (image above) of the form must be kept with your licence, as this outlines the requirements or conditions of your conditional licence. for some people, this is simply you must be medically reviewed by your doctor, but here may other conditions as well, depending on the nature of your condition.
Sometimes your treating doctor may be unsure whether your condition impacts on your driving and may ask for an occupational therapy driving assessment. In these situations, your doctor may ask you not to drive until you have had an assessment. In this situation, we still require you have a completed Queensland Transport Medical Certificate. We may request your doctor complete a from with the condition “the purposes of Occupational Therapy driving assessment / driving lessons in a dual controlled vehicle”. This enables the driver to be able to undertake the assessment and/or any lessons until a final determination regarding their medical fitness to drive can be made.
If you or someone you know requires an occupational therapy driving assessment, please feel free to contact Driving Well Occupational Therapy to arrange an assessment.
Useful Links:
https://www.drivingwell.com.au/
https://austroads.gov.au/publications/assessing-fitness-to-drive/ap-g56
https://www.qld.gov.au/transport/licensing/update/medical/fitness
