2010 BC Guide in Determining Fitness to Drive

OSMV determinationguidelines cont’dConditionsRestrictionsRe-assessmentguidelinesPolicy rationaleimpact on fitness to drivethey agree to report any episodes of sleep at the wheel to theirtreating physician and OSMV, andfor commercial drivers, they have not declined furtherinvestigation or treatment of OSAHS where it has beenrecommended by their treating physician.OSMV will impose the following condition on an individual who isfound fit to drive: you must cease driving and report to OSMV and your physician ifyou have an episode of sleep at the wheelNo restrictions are required.OSMV will re-assess private drivers every two years or asrecommended by the treating physician.OSMV will re-assess commercial drivers annually.The primary concerns with OSAHS are daytime sleepiness (risk ofsleep while driving) and persistent cognitive impairment.Determining who is at risk of adverse driving outcomes due todaytime sleepiness is problematic. Because existing measures ofdaytime sleepiness and the severity of sleep apnea are not consistentpredictors of impairments in driving performance, the fitnessguidelines look to driver history of sleep at the wheel for identifyingcurrent risk of sleep while driving. They also emphasize theresponsibility of the driver to be attentive to the risk for daytimesleepiness.Commercial drivers with untreated OSAHS may not continue to driveunless they follow their treating physician’s recommendations forfurther investigation or treatment, even where daytime sleepiness hasnot been reported or cognitive impairment. This applies only tocommercial drivers because of the uncertainty in the correlationbetween severity of sleep apnea and impaired driving performance.347