SA GPs checked on older driver awareness

South Australian GPs believe there is a need for increased transport and support services for older drivers when they have ceased driving, and as a group, the GPs remain well informed about older driver legislation and use appropriate medical assessments concerning the fitness of their patients to continue driving.

A study by Leah Wilson and Neil Kirby of the School of Psychology, The University of Adelaide, published in the Australasian Journal on Ageing, surveyed 99 South Australian GPs on their knowledge, procedures, and opinions on the fitness to drive of older people.

A previous SA study of GPs in 2002, on older drivers with dementia, found that 12% did not think they were legally required to notify the Licensing Authority if they considered a patient with dementia was unfit to drive, 47% were uncertain about their legal responsibilities over dementia and driving, and 65% were concerned about the adequacy of the Austroads guidelines concerning cognitive impairment and unsafe driving.

The new study found 95% of GPs were familiar with the Austroads handbook Assessing Fitness to Drive and 91% felt that they should discuss driving issues with older patients and their families.

However, only 64% of the GPs believed that they were doing a good job and some qualified their answers with comments such as “doing well with a poor system” and “GPs doing a good job with a flawed process”.

In summary, the authors said that the SA GPs had a good knowledge of the legal driving requirements for older people and provided recommended medical assessments related to driving skills.

But they said their results suggested “a need for increased use of the Austroads handbook for assessing older drivers with medical problems, particularly for GPs trained overseas, and for appropriate tests of the cognitive abilities listed in the handbook”.