Fitness to drive and the onus to report CMAJ 1997;157:1015 I applaud any attempt to prevent impaired driving. Dr. Stephen Workman's recent letter to the editor, "An impaired judicial system" (CMAJ 1997;156:1698 [full text]), suggested that guidelines be developed to determine alcoholic patients' fitness to drive. This proposal results in an interesting paradox in terms of the overall system. My understanding is that the only time there is legal onus not to drive due to impairment is when a driver is impaired by alcohol. I also understand that present legislation states that a physician shall report impairments that may affect a patient's capacity to drive, but there is no specific legislation requiring drivers to self-report or acknowledge this type of impairment. It seems that for all the usual medical conditions only physicians are held legally accountable for reporting a problem; the exception is temporary impairment caused by alcohol, for which a person actually has to take personal responsibility. The ultimate goal should be to review existing motor-vehicle legislation and consider making drivers, and not just physicians, more accountable with regard to fitness to drive. Patrick J. Potter, MD, FRCPC Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation University of Western Ontario London, Ont. Send a letter to the editor responding to this letter Envoyez une lettre à la rédaction au sujet de cette lettre | CMAJ October 15, 1997 (vol 157, no 8) / JAMC le 15 octobre 1997 (vol 157, no 8) |