Psychiatric guidelines for licensing drivers

The role of personality, psychopathology, suicidality and stress in the proneness of some individuals to traffic accidents is presented. Although several studies described risk factors towards traffic accidents, it is not clear how driving fitness should be determined on an individual basis. This assessment should include a combination of psychiatric diagnosis, personality questionnaire, possible stressful events, and most important, the individual's driving record. We endorse the importance of research in this area with more carefully planned studies and a greater involvement of physicians and psychologists in this field.