Recipients Fit To Drive
Ñ but you got to ask
The Alberta Transportation Driver Fitness and Monitoring Branch
has clarified its handling of the driver's licence renewal process
for transplant recipients.
The change applies only to the Class 5 licence, and is still
done on a case-by-case basis, therefore a letter of support from is transplant
doctor is required.
The clarification has many positive ramifications:
- Many recipients
are no longer required to get a medical each year to renew
a licence;
- Recipients will save about $100 a year Ñ the cost
of a medical exam;
- Recipients need not fear getting tangled
up in red tape or hide the fact that they had an organ transplant
when they go to the registry office to renew their licence;
- Fewer
medical exams cut health care costs and the physiciansÔ workload;
- Transplant
staff has a clear process to follow in helping recipients
renew a driverÕs licence;
- Fewer requests for case reviews eases
the workload at the Driver Fitness and Monitoring Branch;
- This
clarifies some auto insurance issues, because failing to
disclose that you had a transplant could invalidate your
coverage.
A transplant is not a cure, it just makes a medical issue easier to manage. Whether you got a heart, kidney, liver, lungs, islet or bowel, you are on anti-rejection drugs. These drugs donÕt affect your driving, but recipients may be on other medications, so itÕs up to each individual to report any health changes to the Driver Fitness and Monitoring Branch.
Here is the basic rule recipients must follow:
“In accordance
with Section 16(1) of the Operator Licensing and Vehicle Control
Regulation, a person who holds or applies for an operator's
licence shall immediately disclose to the Registrar a disease
or disability that may be expected to interfere with the safe
application of a motor vehicle by the person.”
Provincial officials now have a clearer understanding of the issues recipients are facing, and they responded by making the licence renewal process easier to follow. So if your medical situation is stable, contact the Driver Fitness and Monitoring Branch and ask for a five-year driver's licence.
Remember to include a letter from your transplant doctor to support your claim.
Alberta Transportation
Driver Fitness and Monitoring Branch
Main Floor, Twin Atria Building
4999 98th Ave. NW
Edmonton, Alta. T6B 2X3
Tel: 780.427.8230
Fax: 780.422.6612
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