Commercial Drivers Medical – Assessing Fitness to Drive

To drive a vehicle on the road you need to have the right license. That means going through the learning process and passing the appropriate test. You then have the right to join everyone else on the road. It’s estimated there are over 20 million vehicles licensed to be on Australian roads.

The good news is that, once you’ve passed your test, you don’t need to re-take it. That’s unless you lose your license for bad driving. However, it’s a little more complicated for commercial drivers.

Why Commercial Drivers Need Fitness Assessments

Commercial vehicles are large and heavy. They are slow to accelerate and difficult to stop. In other words, driving one can be a demanding task and it’s essential that every commercial driver is up to the task.

After all, a crash involving a commercial vehicle can cause serious problems for other road users. On a busy highway a simple lapse by a driver can cause death and injury to a large number of people. Depending on what load you are carrying, it can also cause serious harm to the environment.

There are strict standards which commercial drivers need to adhere to, effectively ensuring their fitness to drive.

Regular Medicals

All commercial drivers must pass a pre-employment medical. The aim is to verify any existing medical conditions and whether they will affect your ability to drive. It’s essential to pass this to get the driving job. The business will decide which type of pre-employment medical is appropriate. In some cases, the medical required will be defined by your vehicle insurer.

It doesn’t end there. All drivers, commercial and private, are obliged to inform the driving agency and their employer of any health issue which may affect their ability to drive.

To help ensure all commercial drivers are fit to drive, they are also required to undertake an annual medical. This ensures they have not developed any new conditions, or that existing ones have not changed significantly in nature. While it reduces the likelihood of accidents on the road, it’s also a useful way for drivers to monitor their health.

Random Tests

It’s not necessary to retake your commercial license test unless you’ve had a serious infraction. However, employers have a responsibility to ensure you are always fit to drive. This frequently means random ride-alongs to ensure your driving standard is being maintained.

Employers may also perform random drug tests and other checks. However, these will be mentioned in your employment contract.

Driver Responsibilities

An employer is obligated to do everything they can to ensure drivers are fit to drive, that’s why regular medicals and driving assessments are so important.

The driver also has a duty of care. They should report anything that could affect their ability to drive safely. This doesn’t just cover health issues although this is the most obvious reason to have an issue while driving.

Summing Up

The importance of regularly assessing fitness to drive cannot be underestimated. Employers must ensure medicals are undertaken regularly and any obvious issues are addressed. As a business, you need a good health provider on standby to help.

Of course, the driver must also be honest about what ailments they have and the issues they face. Together, drivers and employers can help to reduce the rate of road accidents, it all starts with a medical assessment of fitness to drive.