Proposed revisions to medical standards for private and commercial drivers will improve the decision making process for driver licensing.
Published 05 May 2010.
National Transport Commission (NTC) Senior Manager Safety, Dr Jeff Potter, said that the revised Assessing Fitness to Drive – Commercial and Private Vehicle Drivers (AFTD) is easier to follow and provides a more relevant and informed assessment of drivers and their abilities.
“The publication has been improved to focus on how the symptoms of a person’s condition may affect their driving rather than just the diagnosis,” Dr Potter said.
Published jointly by Austroads and the NTC, AFTD outlines nationally agreed medical standards for the purposes of driver licensing.
The document undergoes regular reviews to ensure it reflects current best practice and meets the practical needs of both private and commercial drivers.
NTC sought feedback on the current standards in July 2009 and worked closely with specialist medical associations and societies to gather current medical knowledge and identify best practice.
Some chapters of AFTD have been consolidated. Information on temporary or rare conditions, which do not necessarily impact licensing, has been captured in Part A (General Considerations) of the document.
“The revisions improve clarity and decision support for medical professionals, including the use of flowcharts and checklists to make the standards easier to follow,” Dr Potter said.
“We believe this will result in a much simpler process for the medical profession, driver licensing authorities and drivers themselves.”
The draft of the revised AFTD and consultation document which details the proposed changes are available on the NTC website.
All feedback will be considered for inclusion in the finalised AFTD publication, which will be submitted to Australian Transport Council (ATC) for approval before being published.
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