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Who is fit to get behind the wheel?


Many people could be suffering from eyesight medical conditions that make it unsafe for them to continue driving; but it appears that many healthcare professionals who are treating these patients are unaware of the Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) guidelines. A team of researchers at the University of Warwick have investigated into just how many people shouldn’t be behind the wheel, and why healthcare professionals aren’t doing something about it.

Their research entailed 358 patients and 1519 healthcare professionals and involved various examinations and tests to see what knowledge the healthcare professionals had in what stipulates a “safe” driver. Shockingly, out of the 1519 only a mere 7.5% answered written case studies of patients’ scenarios correctly. In the actual physical examinations of these patient’s; a staggering three-quarters of the healthcare team failed to offer driving advice to patient’s who were unfit to drive. Moreover, 40% of them did declare they had little knowledge as to what the DVLA guidelines entailed

However, whose responsibility does the declaration of an unfit driver fall upon? It seems no-one really knows the answer to this question either as Dr. Carol Hawley, leader of the research team, points out that no-one is sure as to which healthcare professional should inform the patient about their possible impaired driving. However, as this study was conducted for the Department of Transport, the DVLA seem to have taken note and are developing training for distinguishing between a fit, borderline and unfit driver. One thing is clear; legally all drivers have to declare themselves if they have a form of medical condition that has the potential to make them unfit to continue driving. Therefore, with a little nudge from healthcare professional’s it seems the responsibility should lie within the driver’s hands.

16th January 2010

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