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RTA Mulls Making Health Declaration Must

RTA is planning to make it mandatory, both professional and non-professional, to declare their health condition at the time of licence procurement and renewal.

The plan, still in early stages of preparation, could be implemented at the federal level if approved. Ahmed Behroozian, The Roads and Transports Authority’s (RTA) head of licensing, told Khaleej Times, “This is to ensure road safety for both the drivers and pedestrians.”

A British consultancy hired by the RTA has submitted a number of recommendations pertaining to medical conditions and how they could affect a driver’s fitness to drive.

As per the plan, professional drivers will be required to undergo the process every five years, non-professional drivers ever 10 years, he said.

“Most probably the new licensing requirements will only be for people in a certain age category,” Behroozian said. “We have to know from a medical perspective as to how capable they are of driving.”

Those suffering from epilepsy, fits or blackouts, giddiness, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, sleep apnoea, memory loss and other debilitating conditions will have to declare so.

Those implanted with cardiac pacemakers and defibrillators, those with a history of alcohol or drug dependence, and those who have undergone major surgery will also need to make the declaration. Eye test reports are already a licensing requirement by the RTA.

Such requirements are commonplace in several countries, explained, Nick Sanders, Driver Training Specialist at RTA’s Licensing Agency.

“There are a number of such restrictions in Europe,” he said. “For example, people above 67 are limited to certain geographical areas, since they could be suffering from dementia.”

In Britain — a model the UAE hopes to follow — drivers are required to sign personal declaration forms. Sanders said the conditions were even stricter in Spain and included psychological and physical testing.

“The drawback in such forms is that a person could be dishonest in expressing his condition,” said Sanders. “And compulsory medical tests can deprive many people of their licences.”

A better solution, he said, would be to conduct regular driving assessments and also regulate medical centres and specialists by asking them to refer people with special conditions to the licensing authority.