Psychiatric patients have a higher risk of road traffic accidents than others. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has provided guidance on different psychiatric conditions and medication that would impact driving. The General Medical Council and Royal College of Psychiatrists advice doctors to notify the DVLA when patients unfit to drive fail to inform the DVLA themselves. In this context, it was aimed to study the awareness of doctors regarding DVLA guidance and its use in their clinical practice.

We conducted a survey about doctors’ awareness of guidance on Fitness to Drive via an online questionnaire. Likert type scoring ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree was used to assess the (i) awareness of DVLA guidance for psychiatric patients, (ii) confidence in advising patients, (iii) feeling it is a job requirement to advise patients on driving; and (iv) checking the driving status and if patients have informed DVLA where necessary. This included questions on years of experience in medicine, current grade and subspecialty of Psychiatry.

The sample consisted of 78 doctors, from various grades from Foundation Year 1 trainees to Consultants; working in different Subspecialties in Psychiatry. There were 36 trainees, 12 middle grades, 28 consultants and 2 ‘other’ doctors. The average year of experience of the responding doctors was 14.2±11.0 years with a range of 1-38 years.

Majority (62.8%) of doctors responded that they are aware of the DVLA guidance for psychiatric patients; however 47.5% reported having confidence to advise patients on DVLA guidelines. Considerable proportions (79.5%) of doctors felt that as psychiatrists, it was their job to give advice on driving; but only 50% said they check the driving status and whether patients have informed the DVLA when necessary as part of routine practice.

When using the Likert scale, comparing to other subspecialties, General Adult Psychiatrists responded that they check driving status less routinely (p<0.05), however there was no difference in other areas evaluated. Trainees’ responses indicated less awareness (p<0.001), confidence (p<0.001), and checking of driving related issues routinely in clinical practice (p<0.005).

The survey results suggest variation in awareness of Fitness to drive guidance for psychiatric patients and their use in routine clinical practice amongst doctors. While trainees would need more information and training to increase their confidence, there is a need for all psychiatrists to use the guidelines in regular clinical practice.