Fitness to drive with neurological disabilities

To restore the ability to drive is one aim of the rehabilitation of patients with neurological disabilities. In some instances, an evaluation is required to judge a patient's fitness to drive in today's traffic. Forty-three patients of the neurorehabilitation unit of the Valens Clinic were assessed by a standard traffic psychological test protocol and a control drive. In 88%, there was agreement between the judgments based on each procedure. Four patients had failed either the psychological tests or the control drive but not both. Six patients had failed the psychological test and the control drive. Two drove nevertheless, and three patients stopped driving. Nineteen of 32 patients cleared to drive were followed up. Eleven drove without accidents or traffic fines. The traffic psychological tests and control drive yield complementary information on the fitness to drive. However, the assessments need to be improved. New generations of interactive driving simulators may refine the fitness to drive evaluation and become useful tools in driving rehabilitation.