MORE than 200,000 motorists are awaiting medical assessments for driving licence applications, a doctors’ union has estimated, as it warned of the potentially “grave impact” on road safety if people bypass their GPs in favour of independent practitioners.

The British Medical Association (BMA) has written to the Department for Transport calling for the government to guarantee a “safety-first” approach when it comes to managing the backlog.

The union said the number of people waiting is growing every month and warned against avoiding the queue by going to an independent practitioner.