Doctor wants medically unfit drivers off the road

ABU DHABI // Medical experts are launching an assessment scheme to ensure that drivers who are medically unfit do not get behind the wheel.

“Dubai has guidelines. The emirate of Abu Dhabi doesn’t,” said Dr Ahmed Shatila, a neurologist at Mafraq Hospital in Abu Dhabi who has spent years calling for clear driving guidelines. “Of the hundreds of road traffic accidents in Abu Dhabi last year, there is a possibility that some were caused by people who were medically unfit to drive.”

No recent figures are available but Dr Shatila pointed to a 1996 study that looked at the effect of epilepsy in road accidents.

It found that 20.8 per cent of people with epilepsy had been involved in a traffic accident and 53.7 per cent had sustained serious injuries.

Health professionals have said they are aware of many cases of patients who continue to drive in spite of being medically unfit to do so.

According to Dubai traffic authorities, if a physician knows that a patient is driving and is a risk to the public, they are encouraged to report them.

“In Abu Dhabi we don’t know,” Dr Shatila said. “We are stuck in this conundrum where we encounter patients who are not fit to drive but because there is no law stopping them we don’t know what to do.”

In 2013, he carried out survey of 72 physicians who were asked whether they should report a person with epilepsy who drives.

“When I asked them to raise their hand if they have had an epileptic patient involved in an accident, more than 50 per cent raised their hands.

“We all have these patients who have had accidents because they continue to drive although we have advised them not to. This is why we need guidelines and laws like Dubai.”

Umm Ahmed, 36, has epilepsy and recurrent seizures. She has had several while driving and has injured herself and others.

Under current laws, she is allowed to drive. “Once I had an episode and drove in the opposite direction to the traffic,” she said.

“I was pregnant at the time and was sent to the ICU because of my injuries. The doctors were worried about the baby.”

In another incident, the mother of three children, ages 6, 5 and 2, drove through a red light during a seizure.

“I have had several accidents but I need to drive,” she said. “I have errands to run and I have to go to work.”

Her children were with her during one of the accidents. “Thankfully nothing happened to them,” she said. “They love going out with me and I am dependent on God for our safety.”

She said she had never been asked about her condition when renewing her driving licence.

“Only in Dubai is it an issue, but the other emirates don’t have a problem with it,” she said. “My doctor’s report says I’m medically unfit to drive.”

In 2013, Brig Ghaith Al Zaabi, director general of traffic coordination at the Ministry of Interior, said a mandatory medical check for drivers was being considered, although no such law has been introduced. Mohamud Amin, an occupational therapist at Seha’s Mafraq Hospital, is launching the first service in the UAE to provide driving assessments for patients.

“We want to ensure individuals are given every opportunity to enjoy the independence and freedom associated with driving for as long as possible,” he said. “However, we are also responsible for ensuring the safety of all road users.”

He asked the hospital’s physicians to refrain from sending them patients requesting med- ical assessments for driving permits until the programme is officially launched. Currently they “offer basic assessments that include memory and cognitive skills but in the future our tests will be more comprehensive and include intensive training”.

This service will benefit stroke, traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer’s patients, spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis and those with memory and visual problems.

“We don’t have the authority to prevent them from driving and we don’t know where they end up going after they finish treatment,” he said.

“Most still have a valid licence and go back to driving even if they are not medically fit to drive.

“This is a huge risk on the patient and the public. We are hoping that all the sectors, including the traffic and licensing department, get involved in the programme to ensure the safety of the patient and the public.”