Document Detail


Usefulness of Austroads' fitness-to-drive guidelines: lessons from the Gillett case.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  19413522     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Regina v Gillett deals with a man who did not disclose his epilepsy when seeking a drivers licence. Subsequently, he had a seizure while driving, causing an accident in which three people died. He was found guilty but appealed. During the trial to decide whether Gillett was guilty of dangerous driving occasioning death, the judge decided that the Austroads fitness-to-drive guidelines were extraneous to legal consideration of the acceptable risk to be attached to chronic medical conditions. Although the appeal was unsuccessful with respect to guilt and sentencing, it did reinstate the relevance of the Austroads guidelines when evaluating suitable risk with respect to potentially dangerous drivers. We suggest that even greater protection can be afforded to the community if a clearly enunciated warning, outlining a driver's responsibilities, were to appear on each drivers license.
Authors:
Roy G Beran; Paul Gerber; John A Devereux
Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  The Medical journal of Australia     Volume:  190     ISSN:  0025-729X     ISO Abbreviation:  Med. J. Aust.     Publication Date:  2009 May 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2009-05-05     Completed Date:  2009-06-25     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  0400714     Medline TA:  Med J Aust     Country:  Australia    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  503-5     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Centre for Epilepsy Research and Services, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Australia
Automobile Driving / legislation & jurisprudence*,  standards
Disabled Persons / legislation & jurisprudence*
Epilepsy
Guidelines as Topic
Health Status
Humans
Liability, Legal
Licensure / standards*
Physical Fitness
Physician's Role
Risk Assessment
Truth Disclosure*

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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