The Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) produces regularly updated national medical guidelines of fitness to drive for patients with a range of medical conditions. (http://www.dvla.gov.uk/medical/ataglance.aspx)

It is the duty of licence holders to notify the DVLA of any medical condition which may affect safe driving, however, there may be occasions when the licence holder is not aware of this requirement, or is unwilling or unable to comply.  The General Medical Council (GMC) have issued clear guidelines that doctors should ensure that patients understand that their condition may impair their ability to drive and that the patient has a legal duty to inform the DVLA about their condition.  (http://www.gmc-uk.org/index.asp)

Despite the existence of these guidelines, wide variation in experience and knowledge of medical aspects of fitness to drive has been found amongst health professionals.

This research project was commissioned by the Department for Transport (http://www.dft.gov.uk/) to investigate the attitudes of health professionals to giving advice to patients on fitness to drive.

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