Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 2, 2026

The 4 Mountains Test: A Short Test of Spatial Memory with High Sensitivity for the Diagnosis of Pre-dementia Alzheimer's Disease
Published on: October 13, 2016
Dementia severity and on-road assessment: briefly revisited
Angela Berndt1, Michael Clark, Esther May
1School of Health Sciences, Occupational Therapy Program, University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. angela.berndt@unisa.edu.au
Objective:
Drivers with dementia should cease driving if unsafe. This report aims to add to the evidence concerning use of global dementia severity as an indicator of driving performance.
Method:
One hundred and fifteen drivers were assessed via standardised on-road assessment. Descriptive and comparative statistics analysed age and global dementia severity of the drivers against the on-road assessment outcome.
Results:
On-road assessment outcomes conformed to previous clinical guidelines in outer limits of dementia severity. Drivers with negligible dementia passed the assessment, those with moderate dementia failed. The pass or fail outcomes for drivers with very mild and mild dementia were equivocal.
Conclusion:
This study supports previous recommendations of cessation or continued driving for those in outer margins of dementia severity. Use of severity levels for driving recommendations, in the absence of on-road assessment, risks either continued unsafe driving or premature cessation for individual drivers with very mild or mild dementia.
Related Concept Videos
Dementia l: Introduction
Dementia
The progression of dementia is generally gradual.
Alzheimer Disease l: Introduction
Alzheimer's Disease: Overview
The clinical diagnosis of AD hinges on the presence of memory and other cognitive impairments. Biomarkers, such as changes in Aβ and tau...
Alzheimer Disease ll: Pathophysiology
