What medical

For most people, learning to drive is a very important part of their daily lives - for maintaining social contacts, for accessing and getting to work, and for meeting their daily needs, such as trips to the supermarket or out of town. For some people, their work may involve a car. But with the benefits of driving also come certain responsibilities, and one of those responsibilities is making sure you are in good physical and mental health. Certain illnesses can affect your ability to drive safely, both in the short and long term. In this article we will look at diseases that are prohibited from driving.

Various medical conditions can affect your ability to drive safely, such as:

Blackouts, fainting
Vision problems
Heart disease or stroke
Epilepsy
Insomnia
Diabetes
Mental disorders
Neurological disorders

This generally doesn't mean you can't drive at all, but you may be required to provide a medical report before you can get a license or renew it. In some cases, you may also be required to take a driving test.

Decisions about your ability to drive safely

Your doctor can provide advice about how your medical condition may affect your ability to drive safely. The State Traffic Inspectorate makes the final decision on issuing licenses. Your doctor's advice is taken into account, as well as other factors such as your accident history (if any) and the type of vehicle you drive. For example, truck, bus and taxi drivers are held to higher standards due to the nature of their work.

Not fit to drive

Traffic cops have been waiting for this list, valid since January 6, for quite a long time. Although in the end they only need a certificate: pass or fail. The driver's ability to drive a car is determined by a medical commission. Based on the collected data, it determines the possibility of granting such a right to the applicant or not granting it.

The list of restrictions is still simple. However, some nuances crept into it. For example, people with mental retardation should not drive a car. It doesn’t matter that this category also includes those who cannot add 2+2, as well as those who cannot distinguish right from left. The concept of mental retardation from a medical point of view includes a very wide range of mental abnormalities - from banal depression to inadequate perception of reality.

It must be said that categorical prohibitions apply only to diseases established by the international classification of diseases - ICD. The latest version of the ICD was released under number 10.

You can understand why people suffering from epilepsy should not drive; this disease is designated by qualification G40. Any attack will be fraught with an accident. One can understand why those who suffer from mental illness due to the use of various substances should not drive.

Those who suffer from any kind of depression or impulses should not drive, if this is confirmed by a medical report. Psychiatrists call this mood disorders (affective disorders).

The old medical requirements simply did not contain most of these medical prohibitions. And now there is.

But the most interesting thing is the ban on driving vehicles for those with a disease code corresponding to F60 - F69 - personality and behavior disorders in adulthood, including so-called sexual anomalies.

By this we mean, inter alia, transvestism, transsexualism, fetishism, exhibitionism, voyeurism... The number of all kinds of different sexual behaviors is enormous. And every owner of such a deviation has no right to drive a car. This topic is quite controversial. It is completely unclear how the passion for dressing up in women's underwear or men's clothes affects the quality of driving.

But the list of contraindications was compiled by the Ministry of Health. It is not yet clear what guided this department. Perhaps they simply forgot to clean up the list and exclude from it those deviations that do not in any way affect road safety.

Medical conditions differ for those who drive manual cars or cars with automatic transmissions. The requirements also apply to cars driven by drivers with blindness in one eye and when the driver uses medical devices for vision correction.

Medical restrictions are established depending on the category and type of vehicles. Separate requirements have been established for manually operated vehicles. This applies to those who are missing a limb.

For the first time, requirements for driving cars with automatic transmission have been specified. Now some disabled people have the right to drive cars with automatic transmission.

But be that as it may, these restrictions have already come into force. The State Traffic Safety Inspectorate is of the opinion that licenses are issued to those who provide the appropriate certificate. And if there is no certificate, then the license will not be issued. At the same time, the traffic police cannot have any complaints against medical workers. After all, inspectors issue licenses based on a medical certificate. But the inspector is not obliged to establish the authenticity of the document.

A comment

Valery Yevtushenko, Chairman of the Commission on Legal Issues of the Russian Society of Psychiatrists:

— The provisions of the resolution, which are intended to somehow streamline medical supervision, are unlikely to cope with this task. Thus, the given list of mental illnesses explains that they are taken into account “in the presence of chronic and protracted mental disorders with severe, persistent or often exacerbating painful manifestations.”

But even with this explanation, the document still lacks the most important thing - a statement of how the nature of the mental disorder relates to driving and how the mental characteristics of a person in the event of his illness affect the process of driving.

Epilepsy

If you drive a car and have epilepsy, you will usually only be issued a license if you have been seizure-free for one year or more. You will only be allowed to drive if you have a doctor's certificate. If your job involves driving a vehicle (such as a truck, bus, or taxi), you generally must be seizure-free for 10 years to be medically cleared. There may be exceptions in some situations, for example, if you have only had one seizure, seizures in childhood or only during sleep are also taken into account here.

How is it prohibited to drive a car if you are sick?

The most important thing you need to know is your personal sense of responsibility for the lives of other road users, including many children and pregnant women. We are writing about this because formally, until the next medical examination in order to obtain a certificate for the traffic police, no one may find out that a person has a dangerous disease with which driving is not only prohibited, but also very risky and unwise. And the main problem of interaction between departments in 2021 is that the doctor does not automatically transmit information to the traffic police about the emerging disease.

That is, in fact, if a driver developed, for example, epileptic seizures a year after he first received or changed his license, then he can drive for another 9 years with this dangerous disease. Yes, an inspector can detect a disease randomly and earlier. Or the motorist will be subject to deprivation of his license, which requires a medical examination as a condition for the return of his driver's license.

But legally, only a court can take away your right to drive. In general, there are 3 options when you do not have such a right:

if you have never received a license,
if you have been deprived of your rights,
if the court decided to terminate such a right due to a medical contraindication to driving (Article 28 of the Federal Law on Road Safety).

Why in the latter case can only the court take away such a right, but it does not terminate automatically? Because this is exactly what the Supreme Court pointed out in one of its recent Plenum Resolutions:

A person who does not have the right to drive vehicles is a person who, at the time of committing an administrative offense, did not receive such a right in the manner prescribed by law, a person whose relevant license has expired, as well as a person whose right to drive vehicles was terminated by a court due to with medical contraindications or medical restrictions.

Monocular vision

If you have been diagnosed with monocular vision, you must provide a medical certificate from an ophthalmologist certifying that you meet the required standards to drive. It must be accompanied by the results of all ophthalmic tests. If you drive a personal vehicle, you may be issued a conditional license, subject to review every two years. If you drive a commercial vehicle (trucks, public transport, taxis), you will have to be tested every year. In all cases, the extent of visual field loss and visual acuity will be considered by traffic authorities before a conditional license is issued.

As stated in the law

All driver candidates are required to undergo a medical examination; this is indicated in the “On Road Safety”.

Depending on the category for which the motorist is applying, specific deadlines for passing the commission are provided, for example, public transport drivers are required to undergo inspection before each trip on the route.

Persons wishing to acquire a license for the first time are required to undergo a medical examination. This procedure is intended to identify persons who are prohibited from driving due to a mental or physical condition.

The traffic police are required to present it in the following situations:

first acquisition;
return of rights after temporary deprivation;

Glaucoma

Glaucoma is an eye disease in which the optic nerve at the back of the eye is slowly destroyed. There are no warning signs and there is usually no pain associated with glaucoma. Vision loss occurs gradually, and much of your peripheral vision may be lost before you are given a definitive diagnosis. Drivers with poor peripheral vision are at greater risk of collision, especially when entering or exiting traffic or when overtaking. You may also not see pedestrians entering the road.

Macular degeneration

The macula is the central part of the retina, the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye. The retina processes all visual images. It is responsible for your ability to read, recognize faces, drive a car, and see colors clearly. Macular degeneration causes progressive damage to the macula, leading to loss of central vision. Peripheral vision is not affected. Main symptoms include:

Difficulty with reading or any other activity requiring keen vision
Distortion of lines
Difficulty distinguishing faces
Dark spots may appear before the eyes

A need for increased lighting, sensitivity to glare, decreased night vision, and poor color sensitivity may indicate that something is wrong. If you experience any of these symptoms, contact an eye care professional immediately.

Arthritis

Having arthritis can make your joints swollen and stiff, which can limit the movement of your shoulders, arms, head and neck. It will be difficult for you to perform ordinary actions when driving a car: changing gears, steering the steering wheel and pressing the pedals. As a result, arthritis can make driving difficult. To be able to drive with this condition, you need to be constantly checked by a doctor, monitor your condition and follow all medical instructions.

Diabetes

Diabetes is a disease in which your body cannot properly maintain glucose or blood sugar levels. If not treated correctly, diabetes can cause damage to the nerves in the arms, legs and feet. In severe cases, diabetes leads to blindness, heart disease, and stroke. Other symptoms of diabetes that may put you at risk when driving include:

Drowsiness or dizziness.
Blurred vision.
Loss of consciousness.

If you have diabetes and are experiencing one or more of these symptoms, consult your doctor to begin treatment.

What illnesses can you travel with?

Now let's list the list of diseases that drivers often ask about and which, however, are not on the official list either as contraindications or as special indications or restrictions.

You can definitely drive under the following conditions:

extrasystole
ankylosing spondylitis,
HIV (but depends on its consequences),
hepatitis,
brain cyst (if it does not affect mental disorders),
sleepwalking (if not accompanied by mental disorders),
migraine and any headaches,
neuroses in themselves are also not a contraindication, but if they are accompanied by mental disorders, they can become such),
any hernia (spine, inguinal and others),
osteochondrosis,
rheumatoid arthritis,
Tourette's syndrome (there may be special indications for motor dysfunction),
Fuchs syndrome,
tachycardia,
uterine tone,
cirrhosis,
appendicitis,
cardiac ischemia,
stroke (if there are no dangerous consequences),
pneumonia,
hypotension,
varicose veins,
flu,
gastritis,
ulcer.

Stroke

A stroke occurs when blood flow to the brain is cut off, at which point brain cells begin to die. A stroke may leave you unable to speak, see, think clearly, or control your body. It can also cause temporary or permanent weakness or paralysis on one side of the body. Trying to drive after a stroke can be dangerous. If you drive after a stroke, you may:

Having trouble turning the steering wheel or applying the brakes.
Don't control emotions.
Get tired quickly from a large flow of traffic.

Fortunately, most stroke survivors can return to independent, safe driving. However, it is difficult to determine when you will be able to drive again. You need to be constantly checked by a doctor to ensure that your condition does not worsen.

Medical contraindications – what does the law say?

In automobile law in 2021, there is only one real law, which regulates the ability to drive depending on the presence of certain diseases. This is the Federal Law “On Vehicle Safety”, specifically, its Article 23. However, you will not find in this norm specific indications of certain contraindications - for example, diabetes, epilepsy, asthma, conditions after a stroke, pregnancy and others.

The law refers to the List of such contraindications, but even there there are no specific diseases for which you cannot drive a car. There are general classifiers of diseases according to the international standard ICD-10. But below we will find out whether it is possible to drive a car with a specific disease that interests you.

Please note that, in addition to contraindications, there are 2 more types of prescriptions for conditions and diseases. Thus, there are 3 in total:

contraindications to driving are diseases that prohibit driving any vehicle,
medical indications for driving are special conditions, only under which you can get behind the wheel: the presence of medical devices that help you drive, structural elements (for example, a paddle shifter or parking sensors),
driving restrictions - they, accordingly, limit the right to drive only certain categories of cars (for example, motorcycles, trucks or all trucks).

It should be noted here that there is still such a popular regulatory act - the traffic rules, which prohibits us (clause 2.7) from driving a car in a sick or tired state. Yes, this is practically unprovable by the inspector, and there are no fines or other types of punishment for this (except for intoxication). Therefore, the choice is your personal responsibility.

Sleep apnea

Sleep apnea is a common condition that causes breathing to stop or become difficult during sleep. When your sleep is interrupted by this condition, you will be tired during the day, making your condition dangerous for driving.

If you have sleep apnea, you are at higher risk for car accidents. However, with proper treatment, you should be able to drive safely. Lifestyle changes, medical breathing machines, and special surgeries are commonly used to treat sleep apnea. It is very important that you undergo a thorough course of treatment and follow your doctor's recommendations.

Talk to your doctor to determine how to treat sleep apnea without affecting your ability to drive safely.
You must be alert while driving. Try not to travel alone. Do this until you are confident that you are in complete control of your condition.
If you are very tired or fall asleep at work or at home, you should not drive as it is unsafe for you and others on the road.

Health restrictions

During the examination, the physical and mental state is checked: vision, functioning of internal organs, the presence of mental illness and all fingers.

If vision is -9 in both eyes (total blindness), a ban on driving all types of transport is imposed. Also for these diseases:

chronic diseases of the eye shell;
blindness in one eye;
visual acuity is less than 0.2 in one eye and less than 0.6 in the other;
Refractive surgery was performed less than a month ago;
limitation of the field of view by more than 20 degrees;
cataract;
glaucoma;
defects in color perception;
night myopia;
recent eye surgery.

In other cases with less vision problems, it is possible to obtain a driver's license with the requirement to wear glasses or contact lenses.

Mental problems can appear due to a strong blow to the head, constant use of drugs and alcohol. Complete driving ban if:

mood disorders;
substance use disorder;
mental retardation;
Alzheimer's disease;
schizophrenia;
delusional disorder;
personality disorders;
epilepsy.

A complete ban is imposed for the following physical problems:

heart disease;
diseases of the spine;
delayed physiological development;
serious hearing impairment;
improperly fused bones after a fracture;
respiratory system diseases;
absence of some phalanges of the fingers;
heart surgery less than three months ago.

Denial of rights due to incapacity

Incompetent - a person who is officially recognized as unable to control his own actions due to mental problems. He is prohibited from making transactions, managing property, paying for household services, buying groceries in a store, having a driver’s license and driving public transport. His guardian is watching over him. In the process of restoring health, an incapacitated person may be recognized as having limited legal capacity. Now he is allowed to arrange shopping trips, but his trustee is responsible for various transactions and written agreements. But it is still prohibited to obtain a driver's license. The driving school and medical commission will not allow such people to attend training.

Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease is a disorder that affects the nervous system and muscle movement. Involuntary contraction of the muscles of the arms and legs occurs. You may also have poor balance and coordination, and a slower ability to move. Driving may be unsafe because you may not be able to react quickly to road hazards, turn the steering wheel, or use the gas or brake pedals correctly.

If you are in the early stages of Parkinson's disease, you can drive safely if you follow your doctor's instructions to control your symptoms. Common treatment options include medications, surgical therapy, general lifestyle changes such as rest and exercise, physical therapy, support groups, and occupational therapy.

Temporary health conditions

Many temporary health conditions or injuries will prevent you from driving. For example, if you were under anesthesia, your doctor will advise you not to drive for at least 24 hours. Injuries such as broken bones will also affect your ability to drive.

In most cases, temporary conditions and injuries will not affect your ability to drive and you do not need to report them to traffic authorities. However, you should consult with your doctor to determine whether the injury affects your ability to drive.

Having a certain medical condition does not mean you have to stop driving. But it is very important that you closely monitor your health. If you or someone you know is concerned about your driving, talk to your doctor and consider taking a driving test.