Most GPs want a mandate to send patients for a driving assessment following specific diagnoses so they are not blamed for reporting patients, an Australian Doctor survey suggests.

The vexed issue of fitness-to-drive assessments re-entered the news last week after a Senate inquiry into road safety said the assessments should be done by occupational therapists.

The inquiry offered two arguments: it would protect GPs’ therapeutic relationships with their patients, and occupational therapists would be better qualified to do the assessments.

Judging by the survey results, most GPs felt qualified to do the assessments, but that did not make the process any less fraught (you can read GPs’ personal stories below).