Overview

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) plays a vital role in making Britain’s roads safe. Every motorist must meet the required medical standards of fitness to drive, and for those behind the wheels of large or passenger carrying vehicles, these standards are often higher.

The key guidance used in practice in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) for considering physical fitness to drive is found in the ‘Assessing fitness to drive – a guide for medical professionals’ (AFTD). It is prepared on the advice of the Secretary of State’s Honorary Medical Advisory Panels.

AFTD describes the law relating to medical aspects of driver licensing. It advises members of the medical profession on the medical standards that need to be met by individuals to hold licences to drive various categories of vehicles. It provides the basis on which members of the medical profession advise individuals on whether any medical condition could affect their ability to drive safely.

Purpose of DVLA’s medical advisory panels

The purpose of DVLA’s medical advisory panels is to provide the Secretary of State for Transport, in practice DVLA, with expert advice with the aim of maintaining and improving road safety.

Working with our medical panels

To ensure every motorist meets the required medical standards for fitness to drive, we actively work with our medical panels to set the medical standards and shape policy and guidelines for more than 50 million driving licence holders. The panels help maintain and improve road safety by providing the Secretary of State for Transport, Department for Transport (DfT) and DVLA with expert advice about a wide range of medical conditions and their impact on driving.

The panels meet at least twice a year. They may also provide additional advice to DVLA outside of these meetings. The panels, some of which have existed in their present form for 20 years or more, act purely in an advisory capacity and have no executive or legal powers.

We take advice from these panels to make informed decisions about health standards required for safe driving. The panels focus on the conditions that impact on safe driving and are made up of nationally and internationally renowned experts, particularly in the fields listed below. These standards are continually reviewed.

The 6 panels cover:

• cardiology
• neurology
• diabetes
• vision
• alcohol or substance misuse and dependence
• psychiatry

Vacancies

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