Abstract
Background: A driver with a diagnosis of addiction to alcohol or other addictive substances is disqualified from driving according to the decree on drivers' medical fitness. Every physician has a duty to report holders of driving licences who were found unfit for driving to the competent municipal authority.
Aims: To find out to what extent driving licences are being withdrawn from people with substance addiction and ascertain whether this takes place on the basis of the physicians' duty to report. Methods: Data was obtained by means of anonymous questionnaires that were administered to patients in addiction treatment.
This study was conducted as part of a bachelor's thesis. Results: The number of the respondents who currently or in the past possess(ed) a driving licence was 164.
A total of 96 had had their licences withdrawn. They reported that the most common reason for their driving licences being suspended was a positive test for alcohol or other addictive substances when stopped by the police (46 respondents).
Another 20 respondents reported that they had caused an accident under the influence of alcohol or other addictive substances and 17 respondents stated that they had been reported by a physician as being unfit to drive. The remaining 13 respondents reported other reasons.
Conclusion: The present research indicates that almost half of all the people in addiction tratment have their driving licences withdrawn on the grounds of their being found unfit to drive. The most common reason for the driving licences being withdrawn is roadside checks.
The physician's duty to report accounts for less than a quarter of all the cases.