Elderly drivers, even without dementia, may find this multitasking difficult, as many are battling chronic medical illnesses, physical disabilities, and the compounded effects of polypharmacy. They must also be able to process the symbols on their dashboard and the buttons to operate the car while also paying attention to the signage on the road. Drivers must be able to understand new traffic patterns and react quickly to their surroundings. Unlike other activities of daily living, driving is unpredictable and requires attention to many simultaneous audiovisual inputs. Despite these barriers, driver safety assessment is an important public health and medicolegal issue and should be familiar to all healthcare professionals. The true extent of driving impairment may be minimized by caretakers who either do not want to admit the progression of their loved one’s disease or do not want to take on additional driving responsibilities. Driving is integral to a patient’s independence, so discussions of driving fitness may be met with emotional resistance, and patients may not recognize or admit their deficits. Physicians often do not get formal training on how to conduct these conversations and seldom know that they are qualified to make this assessment. ĭriving safety assessment is a sensitive discussion that is often delayed or forgone altogether because of physician reluctance, patient refusal, or caretaker preference. Patients with dementia have a two to eight times increased risk of motor vehicle accidents compared to similarly aged drivers without dementia, yet many are never counseled on driving safety. When caring for patients with dementia (PWD), it is important to feel comfortable assessing the patient’s fitness to drive.
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