GPs have called for the development of a toolkit for fitness-to-drive assessments, to help guide doctors in a role that still gives “sleepless nights”.

Associate Professor Katharine Wallis, a Gold Coast GP and academic, says making decisions about whether an older patient should stay on the road remains one of the most challenging parts of general practice.

She and colleagues have called for a simple toolkit, comprising a composite battery of tests to be developed and validated for use by GPs, in a perspective in the MJA.

While Austroads and the National Transport Commission have produced a document to guide GPs, many found it provided limited guidance on referral thresholds and the use of screening tests.