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Welcome to PRACDRIVA

PRACDRIVA (Practical Clinical Driver Assessment) is an international resource providing Guidelines to support practitioners in the driver assessment of people with a disability or health condition. The resource is aimed at:

  1. Driving assessors currently carrying out practical clinical driver assessments
  2. A range of health care professionals such as occupational therapists, physiotherapists, general practitioners and consultants
  3. Driving instructors/driving teachers and educators
  4. Administrative departments in countries and organisations who are developing their processes in the field of practical clinical driver assessment

About PRACDRIVA

PRACDRIVA is the result of partnership working between Driving Mobility and CIECA during the period 2017 -2020 involving subject matter experts who were interested in  developing an international approach to clinical driver assessment. 

PRACDRIVA aims to provide practical and realistic online guidance about medical fitness to drive assessment for authorities, organisations and individual clinicians and practitioners.

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Foreword

By Prof Desmond O’Neill MD FRCPI, Director, National Office for Traffic Medicine, Ireland 23 June 2022

Foreword

Guidelines

for the ideal driver assessment

In this section we introduce the Guidelines forming the framework for
the ideal driver assessment, providing an insight as to how these were formed. Each Guideline is then presented individually.

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Introduction to the guidelines

The Guidelines are a result of the collaborative work of members of the Fit to Drive Topical Group, Subgroup 1: Setting Standards for Disabled Driver Assessment (January 2021). Subgroup 1’s membership included a range of professionals involved in the developing field of driver assessment in relation to medical fitness to drive.

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Defining Driver Assessment

“Driver assessment is a multi-disciplinary clinical process to create an opinion on fitness to drive (FTD) referring to the EU Driving Licence Directive. A clinical process determines functional consequences of medical challenges in terms of physical, (neuro) psychological, behavioural and attitudinal aspects.

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What forms an ideal driver assessment?

This section provides an overview of the Guidelines for conducting an ideal driver assessment

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Guideline 1:
Knowledge and skills
of professionals undertaking driver assessment

Minimum standards for professionals involved in driver assessment

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Guideline 2:
Competencies of professionals
undertaking driver assessment

The generic knowledge and skills of all professionals undertaking driver assessment is outlined in the Guideline 1: Knowledge and skills of professionals in driver assessment.

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Guideline 3:
The physical and cognitive assessment

(prior to in car on-road assessment)

Before commencing an in-car on-road assessment of safe driving ability, a physical and cognitive assessment is conducted.

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Guideline 4:
The in-car, on-road driver assessment

The intention of this document is to offer a best practice guide to the high-level requirements in the context of a fitness to drive assessment. However, it is accepted that different countries will be working within their own legal framework and regulations.

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Guideline 5:
How to reach a recommendation

Guidelines for the assessor when matching the findings of the on-road assessment with the physical and cognitive assessment in order to reach a recommendation / opinion

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Guideline 6:
Legal aspects following the driver assessment outcome

Guidelines for the assessor when considering the legal implications of their assessment outcome recommendation

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More about our Guidelines

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Medical Conditions

This section provides information for the assessor on the clinical aspects of specific medical conditions and disabilities. Requirements of the specific condition should be taken into consideration when referring to the Guidelines for the ideal driver assessment. 

Dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) 

Dementia is defined as a decline in cognition that prevents the person carrying out their normal activities.

Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurological condition that starts with cell death of a small area deep in the brain, the substantia nigra. The substantia nigra produces dopamine

Multiple Sclerosis

MS is an autoimmune disorder of the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) that is characterised by demyelination (i.e., damage to the insulating sheathes of the nerves). 

Huntington’s Disease

Huntington’s disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder, which is characterized by motor, cognitive and emotional-behavioural symptoms. 

Stroke

A stroke happens when the blood supply to part of the brain is cut off.  A full definition can be read at This can be caused by either:

1.A blood clot, causing an ischaemic stroke.  This is the most common type of stroke, accounting for 85% of all strokes

OR

2.A weakened blood vessels bleeding into the brain, a haemorrhagic stroke.

Vehicle Adaptations

The vehicle adaptation section lists the more commonly used vehicle adaptations

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Steering
Solutions

There is a range of steering solutions from simple steering aids, that can be attached to the steering wheel, allowing one handed steering…

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Acceleration
Solutions

Modifications to the acceleration system may be required because of a medical condition restricting a person’s physical ability to reliably operate the accelerator…

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Braking
Solutions

Adaptations to a vehicle braking system range from simple solutions such as a hand operated push brake (service brake) to electronic solutions…

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Secondary Control Solutions

Adjustments can be made to the layout of a vehicle’s secondary controls, for example a client may need to have direction indicators relocated…

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Clutch and
Gear Solutions

When a client is unable to operate a standard manual transmission, they may require adjustments to the clutch system or gears. Usually, the simplest solution is to…

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Seating and Vehicle Access Solutions

Seating support and/ or posture can be especially critical for drivers with a medical condition. However, there is a wide range of solutions available to assist…

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Mirror/Camera
Solutions

Extra mirrors, reversing sensors or cameras are just some of the solutions that can be fitted to a vehicle to help aid observation. These solutions are normally used when…

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More about Vehicle Adaptations

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PRACDRIVA is an initiative managed by Driving Mobility, a registered charity number: 298178.
A company limited by guarantee. Registered number: 2192584.

© PracDriva. All Rights Reserved 2022

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