Drivers License Medical Check System Could be Overhauled
The Family Doctors' Association has proposed changes to overhaul the system of medical tests needed for a drivers license.
Currently, GPs make the call whether a person can or cannot drive, and may revoke a health certificate and the license itself with it, if they don't think the person is healthy enough, Postimees reported today.
According to law, all drivers must have a valid health certificate, which is renewed every ten years, or every five years if the person is above 65, or above 50 in the case of drivers of heavier vehicles like trucks or buses.
If Parliament passes the association's proposal, drivers themselves would be required to tell GPs if they have seen other doctors or have had medical procedures, information which GPs can presently easily miss - a change shifting accountability from doctors to patients.
The association said that further up the road, an automatic system could be contrived that forwards up-to-date medical information to the Road Administration, which would have the power to revoke or suspend a health certificate.