A tragic car accident in South Australia has highlighted the need for eye care professionals to “clearly document any driving advice or restrictions in a patient’s clinical record” says Dr Sharon Oberstein, academic lead of the low vision clinics at the University of New South Wales Optometry Clinic.
Forty-seven-year-old Sohaila Mohammadi, a mother of four, died from head injuries on 21 January, 2022 when the van she was a passenger in was struck by a car driven by Tristan Mourant in Adelaide’s northern suburbs.
Mr Mourant had been advised by three medical professionals that he was unfit to drive, due to “his grossly restricted visual fields” however no-one had alerted the Registrar of Motor Vehicles despite state legislation requiring them to do so.
At a coronial inquest into the death of Ms Mohammadi the coroner, Greg Dudzinski said the key issue of the inquest was “the conduct of those medical practitioners involved in the treatment of Mr Mourant prior to the collision”.
According to Section 148 of South Australia’s Motor Vehicles Act 1959, a health professional is required to inform the registrar if a person has a “physical or mental illness, disability or deficiency” that affects their driving and is “likely to endanger the public”.
“The section mandates health professionals, including legally qualified medical practitioners, to inform the Registrar in writing of the name and address of a person they have examined,” Mr Dudzinski told the inquest.
Different States, Different Rules
While mandatory reporting is a requirement in South Australia, other states and territories operate under different legislation.
Dr Oberstein said while it is critical that clinicians throughout Australia clearly document driving advice or restrictions on their patients’ clinical record, due to patient-practitioner confidentiality, in states where there is not mandatory reporting, clinicians are only required to report when they feel that the “person is unsafe”.
“Patients should explicitly be informed that this advice has been documented, but that it is also the patient’s responsibility to disclose relevant changes to the driver licensing authority,” Dr Oberstein told mivision.
“It is also important that clinicians clearly explain why a patient is no longer safe to drive, using understandable language and, where relevant, objective findings.
Reference
Blandis, E. Doctors failed to tell authorities of driver’s vision impairment before fatal Adelaide crash, inquest hears. Available at www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-28/sa-inquest-into-doctors-conduct-before-crash-that-killed-woman/106278662 [accessed Jan 2026].
Additionally, Dr Oberstein noted that the inquest reported “relates specifically to visual field impairment and should not be interpreted as broadly changing licensing interpretation of other conditions, such as visual acuity loss”.
