Return to driving after severe traumatic brain injury: increased risk of traffic accidents and personal responsibility
Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 30, 2026

Assessing Changes in Synaptic Plasticity Using an Awake Closed-Head Injury Model of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
Published on: January 20, 2023
Umberto Bivona1, Mariagrazia DʼIppolito, Marco Giustini
1IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy. u.bivona@hsantalucia.it
Objective:
To determine the frequency of road traffic accidents among individuals who start or resume driving after severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) and to investigate their responsibility for these accidents.
Design:
Observational/retrospective study.
Participants:
Sixty adults with severe TBI and their caregivers.
Measures:
Return to Driving Questionnaire and Glasgow Outcome Scale.
Results:
Thirty of the 60 participants started to drive or resumed driving after TBI. Nineteen (63%) of them were involved in traffic accidents, with personal responsibility in 26 of 36 after return to driving. Participants caused a significantly higher number of accidents after TBI than before.
Conclusions:
The ability to drive is frequently compromised after severe TBI. Specific rehabilitation of this complex activity should be a main goal of social reintegration programs in this population.
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Traumatic Brain Injury l: Introduction
Traumatic Memory
Increased Intracranial Pressure ll: Pathophysiology
Secondary Spinal Cord Injury llI: Pathophysiology
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