[Neurologic and psychiatric diseases and fitness for driving]

Out of all neurological and psychiatric diseases from the international point of view alcoholism is the biggest problem in road-traffic. Psychomotor-ability and self-criticism are already impaired at very low doses of alcohol. Driving-ability almost always is reduced in the acute stage of endogenous psychoses, but improves parallel to the improvement of the psychosis. This happens in spite and sometimes even because of psychopharmacotherapy. Almost all patients are able to fulfill the driving-ability requirements after the acute state. Neurological patients are causing less problems in road-traffic than the average population. In epilepsy a small "risk group" could be objectified. This group has a bad compliance and inclines to alcoholism. In the Western part of Lower Austria we have made arrangements concerning standardized requirements for our patients in 1976. This way from the psycho-hygienic point of view we really were very successful. It also should be mentioned that concerning epilepsy we were more or less pursuing the same ideas since 1976 which got recommended by "Epilepsy International" in 1981.