Should patients with dementia be allowed to drive?

Česká verzia

Authors: V. Kurečková; M. Trepáčová; A. Zaoral; P. Řezáč; P. Zámečník
Published in the journal: Geriatrie a Gerontologie 2017, 6, č. 3: 126-129
Category: Review Article

Summary

The number of drivers older than 65 has been steadily increasing. There are more somatic and mental disorders in this age group compared to younger drivers, including dementia. Driving a car is a complex and demanding task and fitness to drive can be strongly affected by dementia symptoms. However not all dementia patients have to have their driving license withdrawn immediately. As long as the dementia symptoms remain just mild, the patients can keep the driving license under certain circumstances. The decision is up to a qualified transport psychologist. Along with standard fitness-to-drive assessment, standardized observation of the real driving performance should be a part of the assessment. Fitness to drive should be re-examined every 6 months. Drivers with dementia should be advised to reduce the driving of driving that they do, preparing them to eventually replace it by other transport modes.

KEYWORDS:
dementia – driving – transport psychology – fitness-to-drive assessment – mobility

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