Driver medical fitness
Last updated on September 3, 2024
To help keep British Columbia’s roads safe, RoadSafetyBC assesses the medical fitness of drivers and decides about licensing.
The principal assessment tool we use for this is the Driver’s Medical Examination Report. Examination reports help determine if a driver’s medical condition affects their ability to drive safely. A driver’s doctor or nurse completes the report. We may need an examination report depending on a driver’s:
- Age (80+)
- Licence class (commercial drivers)
- Known medical condition
We may also need one if we receive a report a person has a condition that affects their ability to drive safely.
The duty of medical professionals to report a driver:
Doctors, nurse practitioners, psychologists and optometrists must report patients they believe may be medically unfit to drive to RoadSafetyBC. For more information, see Reporting a person who may not be medically fit to drive.
Besides the Driver’s Medical Examination Report, we can ask a driver for medical information or to complete a functional assessment. Functional assessments include:
- Enhanced Road Assessment
- An occupational therapist assessment
- A road test
We’ll review the evidence and may:
- Allow the driver to continue driving
- Require the driver to report changes in their medical condition
- Place conditions on the driver’s licence
- Find the person unfit to drive
- Cancel the driver’s licence
RoadSafetyBC makes driver medical fitness decisions using the principles of administrative fairness while considering the need for public safety.
The assessment process
RoadSafetyBC’s Driver Fitness Program team reviews all driver medical fitness cases. The team comprises intake agents, adjudicators and case managers who are nurses. Adjudicators make most driver fitness decisions, but case managers decide on complicated cases and consult with adjudicators.
The team uses a functional approach to determining driver fitness. It assesses the effects a medical condition has on a driver’s cognitive, sensory and motor functions necessary for driving. In making driver fitness decisions, it considers:
- Research associating the medical condition with negative driving outcomes or evidence of functional impairment
- Expert opinion regarding risk associated with the medical condition at various severity levels, and
- The individual characteristics and abilities of the driver
The team follows the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators Medical Standards for Drivers with B.C. Specific Guidelines when making driver medical fitness decisions.