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Driver medical fitness

Last updated on April 28, 2023
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What has changed?

  • In Spring 2023, RoadSafetyBC will resume issuing age-based Driver Medical Examination Reports.
  • This means that senior drivers who meet new age-based criteria will receive a report to be completed  by physicians and nurse practitioners.
  • In December 2020, RoadSafetyBC paused issuing age-based reports. Government made this difficult decision to protect seniors from possible exposure to COVID-19 in medical clinics.
  • After evaluating the program, RoadSafetyBC will resume issuing age-based reports to senior drivers who meet our new age-based criteria.

 

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.