Assessing your own fitness to drive

If you develop a medical condition or your existing medical condition changes, you should talk to your doctor about whether it affects your driving ability.

If your driving ability has been or may be affected, you need to notify us of your condition (or changes to your condition). This is your legal responsibility, not your doctor's. You can do this by:

• completing the Self Notification MR139 and returning it to our office
• calling 1300 135 513
• emailing tes@stategrowth.tas.gov.au
• writing a letter addressed to the Registrar of Motor Vehicles, GPO Box 1002, Hobart TAS 7001.

There are many medical conditions, or combination of conditions, that can affect your ability to drive. These may include (but are not limited to):

• diabetes
• heart conditions
• musculoskeletal conditions
• neurological conditions
• sleep disorders
• visual impairments
• psychiatric conditions
• blackouts
• substance misuse
• amputations
• congenital conditions
• conditions as a result of a stroke or arthritis.

Any medical conditions that affects your perception, judgement and response time when driving should be reported.

Temporary medical conditions do not need to be reported. However, you must talk to your doctor about whether or not the temporary medical condition will impact your driving. If it does, you should refrain from driving until your doctor has told you that you can resume driving.

Just because you have reported a medical condition that might affect your driving does not mean that you will lose your licence.

As a result of your notification, you may be required to:

• undertake a medical assessment with your doctor
• provide a specialist medical report
• undertake a driving assessment
• provide a report from an occupational therapy driving assessor

Your medical fitness to drive will be determined on a case by case basis in accordance with National Assessing Fitness to Drive Guidelines. You are responsible for bearing the cost of any assessments undertaken.

To find out whether you can claim for the cost of the consultation, you should contact Medicare.

A medical assessment of your fitness to drive may result in:

• you retaining your driver licence with no further action required
• you retaining your driver licence, subject to periodic medical assessments
• having conditions added to your licence (eg driving with visual aids, restrictions on driving at night, restricted to driving in your local area)
• you being required to undergo a driving assessment or occupational therapy driving assessment
• the suspension or cancellation of your licence if you are not fit to drive (if this does happen it is possible to appeal this decision)

Sometimes a driver licence is suspended or cancelled due to a medical condition.

If this occurs, we will notify you in writing and let you know how you can appeal this decision.   If your licence is suspended, we will also let you know what you will have to do to have your suspension lifted.