Fitness to drive

A person's functional ability varies naturally due to common issues such as the time of day, i.e. the time the person is in traffic, whether he or she is tired or alert, or the person's focus on driving.

Different symptoms, illnesses and injuries may also affect the driver's driving capacity. If you have some symptom, medication, illness or injury and would like more information on the impact of this on your driving capacity, do not hesitate to address the issue with a physician. People encounter different situations: many have experienced falling ill, an injury or a chronic disease. The most important thing is for you to assess whether you are fit to drive before driving.

Many diseases pose no barriers to driving as long as their treatment and monitoring is in order. A fear of losing one's driving licence may not prevail, but the best possible care and, as a result, also continuing driving, must be made possible.

If you have or have previously had one of the following illnesses, injuries or symptoms affecting your fitness to drive, discuss your situation with a physician:

• A progressive eye condition or vision problems despite possibly using eyeglasses/contact lenses
• Diabetes
• A heart condition or artery disease (e.g. arrhythmia, myocardial infarction, cardiac insufficiency or severe hypertension)
• Chest pain or shortness of breath
• A cerebrovascular disorder (e.g. cerebral infarction, cerebral haemorrhage or TIA attack)
• Long-term insomnia, severe fatigue or sleep apnoea
• A mental health disorder (e.g. severe depression, self-destructive behaviour, schizophrenia, psychosis or bipolar disorder)
• A personality disorder
• A hyperactivity and attention deficit disorder (ADHD or ADD)
• A developmental disability
• A neurological disease or injury (e.g. epilepsy, narcolepsy, MS, Parkinson's disease, a brain tumour, disturbance in state of consciousness, a brain injury or a spinal injury)
• A memory disorder
• Recurrent dizziness that disturbs your normal functioning
• Problematic alcohol use or alcohol addiction
• Drug abuse
• Regular or recurrent use of medication affecting the central nervous system (labelled with a warning triangle)
• Musculoskeletal disease or an injury that may disturb the use of the car's controls
• Some other serious disease (e.g. a severe pulmonary disease, severe hepatic or renal insufficiency, cancer or organ transplant).