Health conditions and driving

Driving provides you with freedom, independence, and social contact with your community, friends and loved ones. But the privilege of driving is based on your ability to safely operate a motor vehicle. 

The most pronounced effect of ageing for all people is the progressive loss of sensory, cognitive and motor skills. Even healthy older adults suffer some degree of impairment through the ageing process and must learn to adapt their driving behaviour accordingly. 

Any impaired function you have due to an age-related condition should be viewed as a warning to regularly monitor your driving. 

Many factors can diminish your driving performance. Among these factors are age-related changes in our reaction time, and visual, cognitive, and/or muscle disorder that become more common with age, which can have a negative impact on your ability to drive safely. 

If you have experienced or been diagnosed with any of the following conditions, it is important to discuss your health and ability to drive safely with your health professional.

• Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs either when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces. Insulin is a hormone that regulates blood glucose.

• Your brain is fed by blood carrying oxygen and nutrients through blood vessels called arteries. A stroke happens when blood cannot get to your brain, because of a blocked or burst artery. As a result, your brain cells die due to a lack of oxygen and nutrients. Strokes or so-called ministrokes (transient ischemic attacks or TIAs) can slow reaction time, cause muscle weakness, impair vision, and reduce coordination.

• Epilepsy is characterised by seizures, which occur because of temporary excessive electric activity in the brain. During seizures, sufferers may lose consciousness or awareness, they may not be able to hear or see properly, and their movements may become disturbed.

• In multiple sclerosis, the body’s own immune system mistakenly attacks and damages the fatty covering – called myelin – around the nerves. Myelin is important for protecting and insulating nerves so that the electrical messages that the brain sends to the rest of the body, travel quickly and efficiently.

• Parkinson’s Disease is a brain condition that causes problems with movement, mental health, sleep, pain and other health issues. It gets worse over time. Common symptoms include tremors, painful muscle contractions and difficulty speaking. It results in high rates of disability and the need for care. Many people with Parkinson’s also develop dementia. Men are affected more often than women.

• Common age-related eye problems include presbyopia, glaucoma, dry eyes, cataracts and macular degeneration. Visit your optometrist or ophthalmologist regularly.

• Heart disease or heart conditions (including pacemakers) include coronary artery disease which is damage or disease in the heart's major blood vessels. These can consist of high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, arrhythmia - Improper beating of the heart, and peripheral artery disease - a circulatory condition in which narrowed blood vessels reduce blood flow to the limbs.

• Arthritic conditions cause pain and reduced mobility due to the inflammation of one or more joints, causing pain and stiffness that can worsen with age. Different types of arthritis exist, each with different causes including wear and tear, infections and underlying diseases. Symptoms include pain, swelling, reduced range of motion and stiffness.

• Sleep apnea is a potentially serious sleep disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts. Risk factors include age and obesity. It's more common in men. Symptoms include snoring loudly and feeling tired even after a full night's sleep.

• Age-related hearing loss (presbycusis) is the slow loss of hearing in both ears. It is a common problem linked to aging. This hearing loss happens slowly. So, some people are not aware of the changes at first. Most often, it affects the ability to hear high-pitched noises, such as a phone ringing or a microwave beeping. The ability to hear low-pitched noises is often not affected.

• Mental health: Older adults are often at risk of developing mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety disorders due to reduced mobility, social isolation, chronic pain, frailty, dementia or other health problems.

• Sarcopenia is the gradual loss of muscle mass, strength and function. The condition is thought to occur due to aging. Sarcopenia can greatly impact your quality of life by reducing your ability to perform daily tasks.

Drivers must notify Department of Transport and Planning medical review of any medical condition that affects their driving.

Whether prescribed by a doctor or bought over the counter, it is essential to understand how medications may affect your driving.

Some common side effects of medication include feeling drowsy, dizzy, nauseous, light-headed, aggressive, or having impaired vision – these can impact our ability to drive safely.

Some medicines can also interrupt sleep, increasing your chances, and the associated risks, of driving while tired.

Plus, taking different medicines and supplements at the same time may lead to unexpected side effects that can impact your ability to drive safely.

If you are taking medication and supplements, make sure you:

• Tell your doctor that you drive.

• Check with your doctor or pharmacist about how prescriptions may affect your ability to drive safely.

• Ensure your doctor is aware of any non-prescription medicines you are taking.

• Read medicine labels carefully and follow the directions and heed any warnings.

• Must never mix alcohol and medications, particularly if you are planning to drive.

• Try to monitor any changes in how you feel after starting a new medication.

If you feel that your medication may be affecting your driving, it is important to stop driving, keep taking your medication and seek advice from your doctor.

If you need to stop driving temporarily because of your medication, try to use other transport options such as taxis, public transport or call in a favour from family and friends. More information on this topic can be found in the getting around without a car section.

Having a diagnosis of any age-related health condition does not necessarily mean you will need to give up driving. Sometimes, you just need to limit where and when you drive, or have special conditions put on your licence. In fact, most people in Victoria who notify DTP Medical Review continue driving.

Or you may need to stop driving if you no longer meet the minimum health or skill requirements to be able to drive safely.

There are some key actions you can take to make driving safer for yourself and other road users:

• Make sure that your doctor knows that you drive.

• Ask your doctor about your medical condition(s) and their possible effects on driving.

• Ask if your medical condition(s) needs to be reported to DTP Medical Review.

• Ask if your medicines make it less safe to drive, and if they do, ask about alternative medicines.

Older drivers should have regular medical check-ups - at least half-yearly - and more often if they have a condition that may get worse with time.