Mental Health Occupational Therapy Drive Safe Program

Mental ill health may affect your ability to drive safely in the same way that alcohol, drugs or fatigue can, so it’s important to factor in our mental health when we decide to drive.

The Drive Safe Program provides services and supports to promote safe driving a motor vehicle with people living with a mental health condition.

The program has staff with expertise on driving and includes Occupational Therapists, Occupational Therapist Driver Assessors and staff with lived experience of mental ill-health and caring for a family member living with a mental health condition.
The program provides services and supports to promote safe driving a motor vehicle with people living with a mental health condition.

What to expect from the service?

For consumers who access the Northern Health Mental Health Division, the Drive Safe Program provides:

Advice and support to reach driving goals such as gaining a licence, returning to driving and continuing to drive.

Advice, consultation and helpful resources to enable consumers and their family/carers to access transport support or alternative transport if they are not able to drive for a period of time.

Occupational Therapy Driver Assessments when recommended by the treating mental health team and VicRoads.

Helpful brochures and resources that will support a person and their carers/family to make decisions around safe driving.

Location

Mental Health Sites

Contact us

(03) 9355 9700

carolyn.dun@nh.org.au

Resources

Driving and Your Mental Health Brochure

Mental health clinicians are recommended to utilise the Driving and Your Mental Health brochure to assist consumers returning to safe driving and understanding their responsibilities. Many consumers will need to temporarily cease driving when they are experiencing an acute episode or when experiencing a relapse, until they meet the criteria to be fit to drive again.  The brochures outline the steps to return to driving and also support discussions about considerations for self-regulation when OK to drive.

Guidelines for Public Mental Health Clinicians to assist consumers with safe driving.

The overall aim of these guidelines is to provide information to clinicians to support consumers with mental health conditions who engage or want/need to engage in driving a motor vehicle.

This document aims to:

Assist mental health clinicians to support consumers to reach their driving related goal.

Assist mental health clinicians to have conversations and educate consumers, family and carers about the responsibilities of drivers who experience a mental health condition.

Provide information about driving and the key times when mental health, treatment and/or side effects can compromise driving skills and safety.

Provide information to assist mental health clinicians to support consumers in gaining and/or maintaining their driver’s licence and facilitate alternative community mobility and maintenance of routines if consumers need to cease driving temporarily or longer term.

Provide information to mental health clinicians that assists in screening, identifying and referring consumers who present as at-risk drivers.

Provide information regarding when an occupational therapy driver assessment is indicated.

Provide information on where to obtain advice and support regarding complex clinical scenarios.

VicRoads Medical Review Case Managers

VicRoads medical review case managers are available to discuss concerns and find out more information about licencing status

Tel: 8391 3217
Fax: 9854 2307
E-mail: medicalreview@roads.vic.gov.au

The Drive Safe Program’s main goals are to work with psychiatrists and mental health clinicians to consider the consumer’s driving status in terms of fitness to drive, risk assessment, treatment and goal setting as well as providing education and other supports for consumers and carers about how consumers can more safely manage driving while living with a mental health condition. 

The Drive Safe Program offers the following services:

Training for mental health professionals (Doctors, allied health staff, nurses, peer workers) on assessing fitness to drive, promoting consumer driving safety throughout mental health care and having conversations about driving with consumers and carers. We offer internal service specific training at Northern Health. Please contact us to discuss your needs.

Consultations with Occupational Therapy Driver Assessor We can provide advice on clinical driving related queries or specific case examples including providing recommendations for reporting to VicRoads, supporting consumers to understand their responsibilities as a driver, developing a rehabilitation plan to return to driving. We can provide both primary and secondary consultation.

Occupational Therapy Driver Assessments: For consumers within the Northern Health Mental Health Service area only who are current consumers. See further information below.

Driving Community of Practice: This online community of practice is open to all mental health clinicians and is run the 1^st Thursday of every month from 9am-10am. It provides education sessions, and consultations/case discussions and aims to increase staff awareness and confidence in supporting consumers with safe driving.

Developing and implementing a range of strategies to embed a focus on consumer driving in mental health services and developing co-designed resources for consumers, carers and clinicians.

*How to Refer/Enquiries:
To arrange a training session, discuss a case or query with a Driving Specialist Occupational Therapist or to attend the Community of Practice, please email the drive safe program.

To refer for an Occupational Therapy Driver Assessments: for consumers within the Northern Health Mental Health Service.

1.Consumers must meet the medical fitness standards to hold a licence. Doctors/psychiatrists/registrars can determine this by referring to the Australian Assessing Fitness to Drive Commercial and Private Vehicle Drivers: Medical Standards for Licensing and Clinical Management Guidelines (Austroads, 2022).  This document is available from the link here.
2.It is the role of the treating Psychiatrist or Registrar to complete the VicRoads Psychiatric Report when requested by VicRoads or clinically indicated, such as prior to an occupational therapy driver assessment being completed. The consumer will also require a VicRoads medical report be completed by their GP.
3.Please note that medical and psychiatric VicRoads reports must be completed indicating the consumer is medically fit to hold a licence but requires an OT driving assessment due to functional and or safety concerns.