Hi °C | Lo °C ELDERLY drivers and people who manage their medical conditions have nothing to fear from these new guidelines.
The aim is not to take people out of their cars, but to make driving safer for all road users.
It's astonishing that, up to now, doctors were given advice on best practice by having letters sent to them after the EU introduced new rules and regulations.
Now, they have detailed guidelines setting out how to deal with dozens of conditions and ailments, allowing them to make decisions based on the most up-to-date research.
Traffic medicine is a relatively new field, and the regulations come after the Road Safety Authority entered into partnership with the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland in 2011.
An expert group was drawn together to review our fitness-to-drive procedures and draw up new guidelines.
Those regulations have now been sent to every GP in the country, who have also undertaken training courses.
They say it's okay to drive after getting a tooth filled under local anaesthetic, but people who had surgery under a general anaesthetic should wait 24 hours.
Alcoholics must be clean for six months before driving, while stroke victims must wait a month.
It's all sensible stuff, but the guidelines are badly needed, especially for doctors on the frontline.
In 2011, a driver took High Court action against a GP, claiming he was negligent in declaring him fit to drive two years before being involved in a fatal crash. The action failed.
There's no doubt that thousands of people with medical conditions are driving safely on our roads every day. Anything that improves safety for all can only be welcomed.
Irish Independent
