Driver medical fitness

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What has changed because of COVID-19?

 

  • RoadSafetyBC is not issuing age-based Driver Medical Examination Reports during the COVID-19 pandemic. This took effect on December 16, 2020. Examination reports issued before December 16 must be completed.
  • We are monitoring the pandemic's pressures on the medical system and will resume issuing age-based examination reports when it's appropriate.
  • RoadSafetyBC is providing extended timeframes for all drivers to have their Driver’s Medical Examination Reports completed. Please ask your doctor or nurse practitioner to complete the report and return it to us within 120 days from the date printed on your report.
  • We will continue to inform doctors, nurse practitioners, law enforcement, and seniors’ advocacy groups about changes to the program.
 

What hasn’t changed because of COVID-19?

To ensure road safety:

  • These Driver Medical Examination Reports must still be completed:
    • Age-based reports issued before December 16, 2020
    • Reports related to high-risk drivers in B.C., regardless of age
  • Medical practitioners, ICBC driver licensing office employees, and law enforcement should continue to report high-risk medically compromised drivers to RoadSafetyBC for review.
  • RoadSafetyBC will continue to monitor and request assessments of all active and new drivers with medical conditions, regardless of age. 
    • RoadSafetyBC will still issue reports to drivers with medical conditions.
  • Driver Medical Examination Reports for commercial drivers will also continue.

 

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:

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:

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.