When people have an injury at work that impacts their ability to resume driving, we may refer them to our network of Driver Assessment and Rehabilitation Services providers. This is a network of providers who agree to the terms and conditions of a contract with us and meet our criteria in providing driver services to injured workers.

Overview of services

Driver Assessment and Rehabilitation Services (DARS) program
The Driver Assessment and Rehabilitation Services (DARS) program is delivered by an occupational therapist and/or certified driver rehabilitation specialist with advanced training in driver rehabilitation.

The program is appropriate for workers with physical, cognitive-perceptual, mental health, and/or visual conditions that affect their return to driving.

The primary focus of the program is to assess a worker’s functional ability to safely return to the goal of driving. Additional steps may include on-road rehabilitation, prescription of adaptive driving equipment, or a vehicle modifications assessment. The program provides assessment and training in a car (with or without adaptive equipment) or a wheelchair-accessible van.

What to expect

Prerequisite considerations
A valid driver’s licence, learner’s licence, or licence restricted to use with rehabilitation assessor is required for a worker to participate in any on-road evaluation or rehabilitation.

The timing of driver rehabilitation is important — consider changes in functional status and recovery, mobility aides, and/or prosthetic equipment.

Functional driver evaluations cannot provide commentary on episodic conditions; physician screening is requested to comment on any medications and/or medical conditions with episodic impairment (i.e., seizure disorders, certain cardiac conditions, and others). Review recommendations with your health care team to determine best timing to participate in driver rehabilitation.

Functional driving evaluation
Clients are assessed by an occupational therapist with advanced training in driver rehabilitation.

The evaluation examines the physical, cognitive, and visual-perceptual skills that support driving performance. The evaluation is completed in two parts:

• In-clinic evaluation: Completed with the occupational therapist, this evaluation includes a review of medical and driving history, and an assessment of physical, visual, and cognitive abilities.
• On-road evaluation: Completed with the occupational therapist and a driving instructor in a dual-controlled vehicle. This evaluation is not a driver licensing exam; the goal is to determine how the injury affects safe on-road performance, the worker’s ability to compensate, and if they would benefit from training on using adaptive equipment and/or rehabilitation to improve safe driving.

At the end of the evaluation, the results will be discussed with the worker and the claim owner. RoadSafetyBC is involved only where licensing changes are required.

Submitting reports and invoices

All the information you need to complete our required paperwork is available in the contract documents you sign with us.

DARS providers can use our Provider Portal to submit reports and invoices, check the status of payments, and receive referrals.

Need more information?

We want to make sure you have all the information you need to work with us as a health care provider. If you have questions, please contact us for help. You can also download a copy of our contact information.