[The elderly in street traffic--effect of drugs]

For the medical assessment and treatment of the elderly, both general and disease-induced deterioration in performance, in particular of the cognitive functions, has to be taken into consideration. Treatment with drugs must take account not only of the altered pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in the elderly, but also of possible drug-induced impairment of driving ability--which is already affected by physiological changes. Medical treatment of sick elderly drivers should be restricted to low-risk, well-proven and absolutely necessary medication. Studies on a sample of elderly drivers with diminished cognitive performance show that problem-specific drug treatment improves driving ability rather than impairing it.