Driving difficulties in Parkinson's disease

Matthew Rizzo, Ergun Y. Uc, Jeffrey Dawson, Steven Anderson, Robert Rodnitzky

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

25 Scopus citations

Abstract

Safe driving requires the coordination of attention, perception, memory, motor and executive functions (including decision-making) and self-awareness. Parkinson's disease and other disorders may impair these abilities. Because age or medical diagnosis alone is often an unreliable criterion for licensure, decisions on fitness to drive should be based on empirical observations of performance. Linkages between cognitive abilities measured by neuropsychological tasks, and driving behavior assessed using driving simulators, and natural and naturalistic observations in instrumented vehicles, can help standardize the assessment of fitness-to-drive. By understanding the patterns of driver safety errors that cause crashes, it may be possible to design interventions to reduce these errors and injuries and increase mobility. This includes driver performance monitoring devices, collision alerting and warning systems, road design, and graded licensure strategies.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)S136-S140
JournalMovement Disorders
Volume25
Issue numberSUPPL. 1
DOIs
StatePublished - 2010
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Car crash
  • Cognition
  • Driving simulation
  • Human factors
  • Instrumented vehicles

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Neurology
  • Clinical Neurology

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