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AbstractMental processes responsible for goal-oriented behavior – executive functioning (EF) – include working memory, flexible thinking, and cognitive control. A reliable and valid assessment of EF can inform appropriate interventions and decisions to drive. We investigated the feasibility and validity of a short, iPad-administered EF screening tool in a non-clinical sample: the Coffs Harbour Executive Functioning Screen (CHEFS). Participants (N = 55) completed the CHEFS alongside a neuropsychological assessment of EF used to assess fitness to drive. Discriminant function analysis (DFA) showed that the CHEFS correctly classified 87% of participants to normative clinical ranges on the Verbal Fluency Test. The results suggest that CHEFS is a novel, easily administered tool for assessing EF in a non-clinical sample. DFA is an appropriate within-tool analysis to support the widespread administration of a screening tool to determine fitness to drive and classify patient referral needs. Further assessment is required to determine CHEFS reliability and validity with a broader range of participants varying in neuropsychological functioning, age, ethnicity, test experience, and compared to on-road driving performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a method to automatically calculate time to fixate (TTF) from the eye-tracker data in subjects with neurological impairment using a driving simulator. TTF presents the time interval for a person to notice the stimulus from its first occurrence. Precisely, we measured the time since the children started to cross the street until the drivers directed their look to the children. From 108 neurological patients recruited for the study, the analysis of TTF was performed in 56 patients to assess fit-, unfit-, and conditionally-fit-to-drive patients. The results showed that the proposed method based on the YOLO (you only look once) object detector is efficient for computing TTFs from the eye-tracker data. We obtained discriminative results for fit-to-drive patients by application of Tukey's honest significant difference post hoc test (p < 0.01), while no difference was observed between conditionally-fit and unfit-to-drive groups (p = 0.542). Moreover, we show that time-to-collision (TTC), initial gaze distance (IGD) from pedestrians, and speed at the hazard onset did not influence the result, while the only significant interaction is among fitness, IGD, and TTC on TTF. Obtained TTFs are also compared with the perception response times (PRT) calculated independently from eye-tracker data and YOLO. Although we reached statistically significant results that speak in favor of possible method application for assessment of fitness to drive, we provide detailed directions for future driving simulation-based evaluation and propose processing workflow to secure reliable TTF calculation and its possible application in for example psychology and neuroscience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: In this study, we investigated if health professionals' evaluations of driving ability corresponded with measures of severity of alcohol use and measures of cognitive functions necessary for safely driving a car. Methods: A total of 90 participants from a multicentre study were included. Participants were categorised into three groups: (1) the group judged fit to drive (FIT); (2) the group judged not fit to drive (UNFIT); and (3) the group who had lost their driver's licence due to legal sanctions (LEGAL). The participants' AUDIT scores, earlier treatment episodes and results from neuropsychological tests of reaction time, attention and visuospatial ability were included in the analyses. Results: We found a significant difference in the severity of alcohol use disorder (AUD) and visuospatial abilities between the FIT and UNFIT groups. Half of the UNFIT group had at least mild visuospatial difficulties, compared to only a quarter in the FIT group. There were no group differences in reaction time or attentional measures. The LEGAL group had more severe AUD than the other groups. Conclusion: The FIT group did not perform differently from the UNFIT group on attention and reaction time measures. The UNFIT group had more visuospatial impairments, but even half of this group had normal scores. It is uncertain whether the differences between the two groups are of practical significance. The quality of health professionals' evaluations may be questioned, and the results highlight the need for more reliable and valid criteria for doing fitness to drive evaluations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Summary: Excessive daytime sleepiness is the core symptom of central disorders of hypersomnolence (CDH) and can directly impair driving performance. Sleepiness is reflected in relative alterations in distal and proximal skin temperature. Therefore, we examined the predictive value of skin temperature on driving performance. Distal and proximal skin temperature and their gradient (DPG) were continuously measured in 44 participants with narcolepsy type 1, narcolepsy type 2 or idiopathic hypersomnia during a standardised 1‐h driving test. Driving performance was defined as the standard deviation of lateral position (SDLP) per 5 km segment (equivalent to 3 min of driving). Distal and proximal skin temperature and DPG measurements were averaged over each segment and changes over segments were calculated. Mixed‐effect model analyses showed a strong, quadratic association between proximal skin temperature and SDLP (p < 0.001) and a linear association between DPG and SDLP (p < 0.021). Proximal skin temperature changes over 3 to 15 min were predictive for SDLP. Moreover, SDLP increased over time (0.34 cm/segment, p < 0.001) and was higher in men than in women (3.50 cm, p = 0.012). We conclude that proximal skin temperature is a promising predictor for real‐time assessment of driving performance in people with CDH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Driving requires a series of cognitive abilities, many of which are affected by age and medical conditions. The psychosocial importance of continued driving ushers the need for valid measurements in fitness-to-drive assessments. A driving simulator test could prove useful in these assessments, having greater face validity than other off-road tests and being more costeffective and safer than ordinary on-road testing. The aim of this study was to validate a driving simulator test for assessment of cognitive ability in fitness-todrive assessments. Methods: The study included 67 healthy participants. Internal consistency of the simulator subtests was estimated. A correlation analysis between results on the simulator and the cognitive tests Trail Making Test (TMT) A and B and the Useful field of View test (UFOV) and multiple regression analysis were conducted. Finally, a comparison of results between age groups (>65 years) and (<65 years) was done. Results: Results showed good internal consistency. Significant and moderate correlations were found for all reaction time in the simulator's subtests and UFOV 3, and all but two with TMT A. Lane positioning in the simulator showed significant and low to moderate correlations with UFOV 3 in all subtests. Reaction time and Double reaction time on subtest 3 were significantly correlated with UFOV 2 and UFOV 3 and TMT A, respectively. Test on Centerline (position) in subtest 3 as dependent variable was significantly correlated with UFOV 3. Significant means differences and large effect sizes between the age groups were found for all reaction time and lane positioning tests. Conclusion: The findings of concurrent validity, especially with TMT A and UFOV 3 and its sensitivity for age-related differences, indicate potential for the simulator to be used as a complement in fitness-to-drive assessments. However, a clinical study is necessary to further examine its usefulness for patients with cognitive deficits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Occupational therapists are in a unique position to screen and evaluate fitness to drive with both visual-motor processing speed and reaction time being important factors to consider when determining fitness to drive. This study uses the Vision CoachTM to investigate the differences in visual-motor processing speed and reaction time across age and sex of healthy adults. It also explores whether the position of sitting or standing made any difference. The results showed no difference between male/female or standing/sitting positions. However, there was a statistically significant difference between age groups, with older adults demonstrating slower visual-motor processing speed and reaction times. These findings can be used for future studies to explore the impact of injury or disease on visual-motor processing speed and reaction times and its relation to fitness to drive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Occupational therapists are in a unique position to screen and evaluate fitness to drive with both visual-motor processing speed and reaction time being important factors to consider when determining fitness to drive. This study uses the Vision CoachTM to investigate the differences in visual-motor processing speed and reaction time across age and sex of healthy adults. It also explores whether the position of sitting or standing made any difference. The results showed no difference between male/female or standing/sitting positions. However, there was a statistically significant difference between age groups, with older adults demonstrating slower visual-motor processing speed and reaction times. These findings can be used for future studies to explore the impact of injury or disease on visual-motor processing speed and reaction times and its relation to fitness to drive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of smartwatches has increased significantly in recent years for leisure, health, and research purposes. In the transport sector, smartwatches facilitate cost-effective, unintrusive, and dynamic monitoring of the driver’s state and behavior while on the road. This scoping review aimed to analyze and synthesize publications that have collected smartwatch data during driving to examine the driver’s condition, behavior, in-cabin activities, and reactions. The main objective was to assess the extent to which smartwatches have been included in driving-related studies, organize the relevant literature thematically, and identify the issues that arise during the collection and analysis of smartwatch data.A scoping review was conducted and 76 eligible records were identified based on the framework provided by Arksey and O’Malley. The publications differed significantly in terms of their main purposes, number of recruited participants, smartwatches used, and methodologies applied. Five main themes were identified in the relevant literature: driver state assessment, benchmark performance, driver assistance systems and interventions, exogenous and endogenous factors, and detection of driving events. The review confirms the potential of smartwatches as a tool for driver monitoring, which goes beyond the capabilities of questionnaires. Some studies reported data-related problems, mainly related to data loss and sweating. Future research should adopt a more comprehensive approach to driver monitoring by expanding the collection of data beyond the narrow context of the driving task to include measurements related to the long-term health of the driver, such as sleep, resting heart rate, and physical activity.

From 2016 onwards, a group of cardiologists initially formed in 2013 took the initiative to regulate and standardize the rights of European citizens suffering from diverse cardiovascular conditions at the European level. Subsequently, the Romanian government embraced and incorporated these recommendations into law a year later. This process addressed several important new aspects, including stents, myocarditis, and various cardiomyopathies, with a focus on striking a balance between the individual’s right to drive a vehicle and the need to safeguard the lives of others. The Romanian law, however, is vague and states that “candidates or drivers from the indicated groups can be issued or renewed their driving licenses only after the condition in question has been effectively treated and subject to the opinion issued by the specialist cardiology doctor and, depending on a case, by performing a periodic medical check” but does not clearly specify how and for how long and to whom exactly the driver’s license should be suspended. Interestingly, Switzerland, despite not being an EU member, developed its own set of recommendations three years later, drawing strong inspiration from the German guidelines, which in turn personalized its indications (being the European country with the most publications in this field). A refinement of the refinement, one could say. The indications are clear, precise, and structured in a point-by-point fashion. The purpose of this review is to explore the Swiss guidelines on fitness to drive in cardiovascular diseases interactively, with discussions on fictitious cases, in the hope that doctors will be able to become more familiar with these rigid and often interpretable indications and implement them in their daily practice.

BackgroundDriving requires a series of cognitive abilities, many of which are affected by age and medical conditions. The psychosocial importance of continued driving ushers the need for valid measurements in fitness-to-drive assessments. A driving simulator test could prove useful in these assessments, having greater face validity than other off-road tests and being more cost-effective and safer than ordinary on-road testing. The aim of this study was to validate a driving simulator test for assessment of cognitive ability in fitness-to-drive assessments.MethodsThe study included 67 healthy participants. Internal consistency of the simulator subtests was estimated. A correlation analysis between results on the simulator and the cognitive tests Trail Making Test (TMT) A and B and the Useful field of View test (UFOV) and multiple regression analysis were conducted. Finally, a comparison of results between age groups (>65 years) and (

Paragraph 2 of the Driving License Ordinance (FeV) defines the relevant share of responsibility for every vehicle driver: Those who cannot move safely in traffic and pose a risk to themselves or others must refrain from driving a motor vehicle. The taking of medication should not be assessed differently from symptoms caused by a severe flu-like infection or gastrointestinal disorder. The assessment of drivers who have been treated with painkillers on a long-term basis with regard to their ability to safely participate in road traffic is complex and, including fundamental considerations, generally also requires a case-by-case approach and, if necessary, an assessment. The typical undesirable effects of most pain medication, especially WHO II and III, can potentially and usually only temporarily put this fitness to drive into question. On the other hand, taking painkillers can make driving possible in the first place. The ability to drive can be impaired in particular when dosing, changing substances, changing doses, supplementing co-medication and also discontinuing substances. A period of 2 weeks for not driving a motor vehicle can be considered useful here. The requirement for safety is to be set even higher for driving license group 2, professional drivers, bus drivers, passenger transport. In this context, road users are required to have a high level of character aptitude. There are trend-setting publications penned by the assessment criteria working group of the German Society for Traffic Psychology (DGVP). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Die Ophthalmologie is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Objective: The Trail Making Test (TMT) is commonly used worldwide to evaluate cognitive decline and car driving ability. However, it has received critique for its dependence on the Latin alphabet and thus, the risk of misclassifying some participants. Alphabet support potentially increases test validity by avoiding misclassification of executive dysfunction in participants with dyslexia and those with insufficient automatization of the Latin alphabet. However, Alphabet support might render the test less sensitive to set-shifting, thus compromising the validity of the test. This study compares two versions of the TMT: with and without alphabet support. Methods: We compared the TMT-A, TMT-B, and TMT-B:A ratios in two independent normative samples with (n = 220) and without (n = 64) alphabet support using multiple regression analysis adjusted for age and education. The sample comprised Scandinavians aged 70-84 years. Alphabet support was included by adding the Latin alphabet A-L on top of the page on the TMT-B. We hypothesized that alphabet support would not change the TMT-B:A ratio. Results: After adjusting for age and years of education, there were no significant differences between the two samples in the TMT-A, TMT-B, or the ratio score (TMT-B:A). Conclusion: Our results suggest that the inclusion of alphabet support does not alter TMT's ability to measure set-shifting in a sample of older Scandinavian adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Spiritual fitness is a relevant resilience factor applicable to civilian drivers. • Spiritual fitness was a predictor of risky driving behaviours. • Driver's spiritual fitness was mediator between personality traits (impulsiveness, empathy, and conscientiousness) and risky driving behaviours. • Cross-cultural research should assess spiritual fitness from a broader perspective. • It is worth designing a spiritual fitness-based intervention to reduce risky driving behaviors and enhance empathy and conscientiousness among civilian drivers. Drivers' risky behaviours continue to be a major cause of traffic fatalities. Cultural changes, including fast-paced lifestyles, considerably contribute to speeding, fatigue, and texting while driving. Investigating the causes of these behaviours and resilience factors that can prevent or reduce negative outcomes is vital. The construct of spiritual fitness— defined as 'the ability to adhere to beliefs, principles, or values needed to persevere and prevail in accomplishing a mission'—is an interesting proposition developed by the U.S. Army. Intervention programmes related to spiritual fitness are effective for vehicle operators' performance optimisation. Thus, this study introduces this phenomenon into research on civilian drivers. Specifically, the relationships between spiritual fitness, personality traits, and risky driving behaviours were examined. The study group comprised civilian drivers (N = 1037; M age = 39.48 ± 13.32 years) who completed online self-reported questionnaire. Results showed that spiritual fitness was related to personality traits and risky driving behaviours. Additionally, spiritual fitness was a predictor of risky driving behaviours. Finally, spiritual fitness mediated the relationship between personality traits (impulsiveness, empathy, and conscientiousness) and risky behaviours. These findings confirm that spiritual fitness is a relevant resilience factor that merits further investigation on how it affects the on-road performance of civilian drivers. Study limitations and other possible research avenues are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Austroads Fitness to Drive Guidelines were updated in 2022. Most of the focus to date has been on Part 2 of the Guidelines, which provide guidance as to specific medical conditions. Less attention has been paid to Part 1 of the Guidelines, which cover a medical practitioner's ethical and legal obligations. This paper addresses the imbalance by considering and amplifying the obligations discussed in Part 1 of the Guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Road traffic crashes due to impaired driving are a leading cause of preventable injuries and deaths. The purpose of this study was adaptation of a European categorization system for driving-impairing medicines in Iran. DRUID categorization system was used as a leading model to classify medicines. Medicines that were compatible with DRUID categorization system were identified and classified accordingly. Medicines that were not compatible with DRUID categorization system were assessed in an expert panel in terms of possiblity of classification. Instructions for health care providers and advice for patients were prepared based on the medicine's influence on fitness to drive. Of the 1255 medicines in Iranian pharmacopeia, 488 medicines were classified in four categories. Among classified medicines 43.85% and 25.41% belonged to Category 0 and Category 1. About 13.94%, 10.04%, and 6.76% pertained to Category 2, Category 3, and Multiple categories respectively. Majority of the medicines with moderate and severe adverse influences on driving fitness belonged to the nervous system medicines (72.65%). Most of the medicines with non-existing or minor adverse influences on driving fitness pertained to cardiovascular medicines (16.56%). Majority of uncategorized medicines belonged to Iranian herbal medicines. The current study disclosed that DRUID categorization system was implementable for most of the commonly prescribed medicines. Experimental studies are needed to determine the influence of uncategorized medicines of Iranian pharmacopeia. Other countries with similar settings can adapt DRUID categorization system until they develop their own model using original studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Psychiatric disorders and their treatments have the potential to adversely impact driving skills. However, it is unclear to what extent this poses a public health risk by increasing the risk of motor vehicle crashes (MVCs). The aim of this systematic review was to synthesize and critically appraise evidence on the risk of MVC for drivers with psychiatric disorders. Method: We conducted a systematic review of the MVC risk associated with psychiatric disorders using seven databases in November 2019. Two reviewers examined each study and extracted data. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Quality Assessment tools were used to assess each study's quality of evidence. Results: We identified 24 studies that met the inclusion criteria, including eight cohort, 10 case-control, and six cross-sectional designs. Quality assessment ratings were "Good" for four studies, "Fair" for 10, and "Poor" for 10. Self-report or questionnaires were used in place of objective measures of either MVC, psychiatric disorder, or both in 12 studies, and only seven adjusted for driving exposure. Fifteen studies reported an increased risk of MVC associated with psychiatric disorders, and nine did not. There was no category of disorder that was consistently associated with increased MVC risk. Conclusion: The available evidence is mixed, not of high quality, and does not support a blanket restriction on drivers with psychiatric disorder. An individualized approach, as recommended by international guidelines, should continue. Further research should include objective assessments of psychiatric disorders and MVC risk and adjust for driving exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Driving under the influence of alcohol is one of the greatest dangers to the safety of road users not only in Germany, but across the rest of the world. An essential indicator for both punitive and corrective measures as well as for the prediction of recidivism is the blood alcohol concentration (BAC). This paper examines the relationships between BAC of first-time offenders, former drinking history, traffic related alcohol problem (TRAP), and the outcome of a medical-psychological assessment. The concept of TRAP combines syndromes from Alcohol Use Disorders (AUD) and a non-clinical delinquency category (drink and drive issue without AUD). It is in use for diagnostics among "hard core" alcohol-impaired offenders according to a diagnostic model which is applied in Germany and accepted by the legislator. The present study (N = 505) showed that a BAC of 0.11% upwards must be considered as a risk parameter for the identification of drivers with non-normative, and therefore traffic safety impairing drinking patterns. The importance of BAC as a risk indicator for road safety is underlined by significant correlations between BAC with drinking history and TRAP, but its prognostic value is poor, since BAC was unrelated to the outcome of the medical-psychological assessment. It could be demonstrated that TRAP severity increases with higher age, higher BAC, greater number of drinking days, higher occasion-related drinking amounts, and non-social drinking motivation (against stress and tension). Practical consequences are drawn regarding preconditions for re-issuing a driving licence.

Background: Too little sleep and the consequences thereof are a heavy burden in modern societies. In contrast to alcohol or illicit drug use, there are no quick roadside or workplace tests for objective biomarkers for sleepiness. We hypothesize that changes in physiological functions (such as sleep–wake regulation) are reflected in changes of endogenous metabolism and should therefore be detectable as a change in metabolic profiles. This study will allow for creating a reliable and objective panel of candidate biomarkers being indicative for sleepiness and its behavioral outcomes. Methods: This is a monocentric, controlled, randomized, crossover, clinical study to detect potential biomarkers. Each of the anticipated 24 participants will be allocated in randomized order to each of the three study arms (control, sleep restriction, and sleep deprivation). These only differ in the amount of hours slept per night. In the control condition, participants will adhere to a 16/8 h wake/sleep regime. In both sleep restriction and sleep deprivation conditions, participants will accumulate a total sleep deficit of 8 h, achieved by different wake/sleep regimes that simulate real-life scenarios. The primary outcome is changes in the metabolic profile (i.e., metabolome) in oral fluid. Secondary outcome measures will include driving performance, psychomotor vigilance test, d2 Test of Attention, visual attention test, subjective (situational) sleepiness, electroencephalographic changes, behavioral markers of sleepiness, changes in metabolite concentrations in exhaled breath and finger sweat, and correlation of metabolic changes among biological matrices. Discussion: This is the first trial of its kind that investigates complete metabolic profiles combined with performance monitoring in humans over a multi-day period involving different sleep–wake schedules. Hereby, we aim to establish a candidate biomarker panel being indicative for sleepiness and its behavioral outcomes. To date, there are no robust and easily accessible biomarkers for the detection of sleepiness, even though the vast damage on society is well known. Thus, our findings will be of high value for many related disciplines. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT05585515, released on 18.10.2022; Swiss National Clinical Trial Portal SNCTP000005089, registered on 12 August 2022. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European Union (EU) and non-EU countries have adopted different medical procedures for the issuance and renewal of a driver's license showing relevant matters of concern. In Europe, EU directives have been only partially supplemented with national laws, and there is a paucity of evidence-based criteria and methods for fitness-to-drive assessment. For instance, there is no agreement on standards for establishing which is the competent authority charged with the medical examination. Furthermore, license conditions, restrictions, or vehicle modifications, which appear as "limited use" codes on the driver's license are not regulated. This may generate confusion and deformity when it comes to the medico-legal evaluation, with potential ethical implications due to lack of transparency and equity and legal disputes between citizens and competent authorities. In this article, Italian experts on fitness-to-drive medical assessment highlight some major issues concerning the medical driving assessment activity in the EU. The Italian experience is shown as a case study, which is representative of other EU member states, for launching a call for evidence-based consensus documents and scientific guidelines on this topic, which may be helpful to international regulators and medico-legal stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background With age, medical conditions impairing safe driving accumulate. Consequently, the risk of accidents increases. To mitigate this risk, Swiss law requires biannual assessments of the fitness to drive of elderly drivers. Drivers may prove their cognitive and physical capacity for safe driving in a medically supervised driving test (MSDT) when borderline cases, as indicated by low performance in a set of four cognitive tests, including e.g. the mini mental status test (MMST). Any prognostic, rather than indicative, relations for MSDT outcomes have neither been confirmed nor falsified so far. In order to avoid use of unsubstantiated rules of thumb, we here evaluate the predictive value for MSDT outcomes of the outcomes of the standard set of four cognitive tests, used in Swiss traffic medicine examinations. Methods We present descriptive information on age, gender and cognitive pretesting results of all MSDTs recorded in our case database from 2017 to 2019. Based on these retrospective cohort data, we used logistic regression to predict the binary outcome MSDT. An exploratory analysis used all available data (model 1). Based on the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC), we then established a model including variables age and MMST (model 2). To evaluate the predictive value of the four cognitive assessments, model 3 included cognitive test outcomes only. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) and area under the curve (AUC) allowed evaluating discriminative performance of the three different models using independent validation data. Results Using N = 188 complete data sets of a total of 225 included cases, AIC identified age (p

The main function of the medical-psychological assessment to evaluate fitness to drive (FTD) is to safeguard the community against risks posed by drivers who, owing to psycho-physical disease, personality disturbances, abuse of psychotropic substances or drugs, can be a hazard to safety on the roads. In the context of psychodiagnostic investigations, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory 2 (MMPI-2) test is the gold standard tool supporting clinical assessments conducted to evaluate a subject's capacity to predict her/his own actions, attitudes, risk propensity, level of conformity to social norms. Other important features of the tool include the specific scales aimed at individuating behaviors adopted with the intent to elude or hide existing personality problems. These behaviors are very frequent in the field of medicolegal, psychological and psychiatric assessments, including FTD evaluations. In this study, the MMPI 2 test was administered to 154 subjects for whom Driving Licence (DL) Medical Commissions based in the south of Italy had required specific personality assessments, compared to a control group of 186 subjects with no clinical or psychodiagnostic problems. The question posed in our study was to understand whether the test was able to detect differences between the personalities of the subjects belonging to the two groups. The results obtained demonstrated significant differences between the experimental group and the controls, shown by the MMPI-2 variables, in particular the clinical Hs scale, the supplementary scales: GF, Re, AAS, APS and the content scales DEP and TRT, as well as the PSY-5 Disc and Nege scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The multicenter, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, phase IIIb CANNA-TICS (CANNAbinoids in the treatment of TICS) trial showed clear trends for improvement of tics, depression, and quality of life with nabiximols versus placebo in adult patients with Gilles de la Tourette syndrome and other chronic tic disorders. Although in general nabiximols was well tolerated, it is unclear whether treatment using this cannabis extract influences driving skills in patients with chronic tic disorders. Methods: Here we report results of the "Fitness to Drive" substudy of the CANNA-TICS trial. The key endpoint was fitness to drive as a binary criterion with a computerized assessment at baseline and after 9 weeks of stable treatment (week 13) with nabiximols or placebo. A patient was considered unfit to drive according to the German Federal Highway Research Institute guidelines. Results: In the substudy, a total of 64 patients (76.6% men, mean±standard deviation of age: 36.8±13.9) were recruited at two study sites. The number of patients who were fit to drive increased from 24 (55.8%) at baseline to 28 (71.8%) at week 13 among 43 patients treated with nabiximols, and decreased from 14 (66.7%) to 10 (52.6%) among 21 patients who received placebo. The risk difference (nabiximols - placebo) was 0.17 (95% confidence interval=-0.08 to 0.43) in favor of nabiximols. Specifically, only 2 of 24 (8.3%) patients in the nabiximols, but 4 of 14 (28.6%) patients in the placebo group changed for the worse from fit (at baseline) to unfit (at week 13) to drive, whereas 8 of 19 (42.1%) patients in the nabiximols, and only 2 of 7 (28.6%) patients in the placebo group improved from unfit to fit. Conclusion: Treatment with nabiximols does not impair skills relevant to driving in those patients with tic disorders who were fit to drive at baseline and even improved fitness to drive in a subset of patients who were unfit to drive before start of treatment. EudraCT number : 2016-000564-42.

Objective: The Swiss guidelines for driving with epilepsy require that electroencephalogram (EEG) findings must be compatible with the fitness to drive (FTD) without specifying any criteria. This nationwide survey investigated how Swiss neurologists implement this requirement in clinical practice., Methods: An online survey, including 19 EEG examples and statements about the compatibility of the EEG with FTD, was distributed to all members of the Swiss Society of Clinical Neurophysiology and all Swiss neurological clinics with residency programs. Descriptive statistics and Fleiss' Kappa for inter-rater agreement were performed., Results: 102 participants (37% female, 45% <45 years) completed the survey, with 15% primarily working in a specialized epileptology center (EPI), 55% in a hospital setting without epileptological focus (HOS), and 30% in private practice (PP). Most participants of all three groups regarded EEG normal variants as compatible with FTD, while hyperventilation-induced rhythmic slowing and some pathological patterns (e.g., frontal and temporal intermittent rhythmic delta activity [FIRDA, TIRDA], focal interictal epileptiform discharges [IED], focal seizure) were evaluated more heterogeneously. The EEG inter-rater agreement for EPI was 0.4; 0.31 for PP; and 0.24 for HOS. No consensus was found for acceptable duration for generalized or focal IEDs. Among all participants, evaluation by an epilepsy center (85%) and reaction-time testing (67%) were evaluated as the most useful additional examinations. However, reaction-time testing is rarely or never performed by 58%. Most supported EEG results as part of the FTD assessment and demanded more research (both 82%)., Significance: Our survey indicates considerable heterogeneity among Swiss neurologists when evaluating the EEG findings for FTD. Inter-rater agreement in all three groups was fair, with highest agreement among epileptologists. We noted a discrepancy between the usefulness and actual application of reaction-time testing. More training and research are warranted to achieve rater-independent consistency for FTD evaluation., Plain Language Summary: In Switzerland, neurologists must consider the findings from EEG (brain waves) exams to evaluate driving safety in people with epilepsy. We surveyed Swiss neurologists, asking their opinions on this matter. We found that opinions differ among individual doctors, with the highest agreement among epilepsy specialists. We also found that some additional tests, such as reaction-time testing, are perceived as useful but are rarely performed. The participating neurologists supported considering EEG results for driving fitness assessments but favored more precise guidelines and research., (© 2024 The Author(s). Epilepsia Open published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International League Against Epilepsy.)

Background: This study has been conducted to analyze the processes, models, and policies to assess fitness to drive and improving driving in the elderly in the world. Methods: The Arkesy and O’Malley frameworks were employed. Articles with at least one aspect of driving eligibility in the elderly were included. Expected data were collected using appropriate keywords from PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Embase, IranDoc, SID, and MagIran. Data were analyzed using the Content Analysis method. Results: Out of 675 records, 24 papers and reports were included in the study that all of them were High-Income Countries (HICs). Among the studies that referred to the baseline age, the highest frequency was 70 yr old (4 studies). Vision assessment was the main item to judge driving fitness (mentioned in 75% of the studies). The in-person (5 studies) was the most common method of renewal. General practitioners were the principal performers to measure driving fitness (7 studies). Thirteen studies referred to the road tests as part of the driver's license renewal process. In most all reports and papers, there were policies on empowering the elderly driver, including providing safe driving tips, optional driving skills tests, holding retraining courses, etc. The most frequently supporting policies included introducing alternative transportation. Conclusion: Most HICs have worthwhile experience in measuring and improving the fitness to drive in the elderly and enforce different laws according to social and political conditions. Utilizing these experiences by considering economic and social differences can be useful and practical for middle and low-income countries.

Summary: Patients with narcolepsy or idiopathic hypersomnia (IH) are at increased risk of driving accidents. Both excessive daytime sleepiness, i.e. unwanted sleep episodes during the day, and disturbed vigilance are core features of these disorders. We tested on‐the‐road driving performance of patients with narcolepsy or IH coming in for a routine driving fitness evaluation and examined: (1) correlations between driving performance and the Maintenance of Wakefulness Test (MWT), Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) and Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT) as objective tests; (2) the predictive power of the MWT and SART for increased risk of impaired driving; (3) the best set of objective predictors for increased risk of impaired driving. Participants were 44 patients (aged 18–75 years) with narcolepsy type 1 (NT1), type 2 (NT2) or IH. They completed the MWT, SART, PVT, a subjective sleepiness questionnaire, and a standardised on‐the‐road driving test. The standard deviation of the lateral position (SDLP) was used as outcome measure of driving performance. The MWT had low correlation with the SDLP (ρ = −0.41 to −0.49, p < 0.01). The SART and PVT had low correlations with SDLP (ρ = 0.30 and ρ = 0.39, respectively, both p < 0.05). The predictive power of MWT for an increased risk of impaired driving was significant, but low (area under the curve = 0.273, p = 0.012), and non‐significant for SART. We conclude that in our present group, none of the tests had adequate ability to predict impaired driving, questioning their use for clinical driving fitness evaluation in narcolepsy and IH. Real‐time monitoring of sleepiness while driving seems more promising in these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Driving under the influence of alcohol is one of the greatest dangers to the safety of road users not only in Germany, but across the rest of the world. An essential indicator for both punitive and corrective measures as well as for the prediction of recidivism is the blood alcohol concentration (BAC). This paper examines the relationships between BAC of first-time offenders, former drinking history, traffic related alcohol problem (TRAP), and the outcome of a medical-psychological assessment. The concept of TRAP combines syndromes from Alcohol Use Disorders (AUD) and a non-clinical delinquency category (drink and drive issue without AUD). It is in use for diagnostics among "hard core" alcohol-impaired offenders according to a diagnostic model which is applied in Germany and accepted by the legislator. The present study (N = 505) showed that a BAC of 0.11% upwards must be considered as a risk parameter for the identification of drivers with non-normative, and therefore traffic safety impairing drinking patterns. The importance of BAC as a risk indicator for road safety is underlined by significant correlations between BAC with drinking history and TRAP, but its prognostic value is poor, since BAC was unrelated to the outcome of the medical-psychological assessment. It could be demonstrated that TRAP severity increases with higher age, higher BAC, greater number of drinking days, higher occasion-related drinking amounts, and non-social drinking motivation (against stress and tension). Practical consequences are drawn regarding preconditions for re-issuing a driving licence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of this systematic review was to identify and evaluate studies dealing with driving performance of dizzy patients or patients with a vestibular disorder. Methods: A systematic review was performed according to the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis guidelines. (1) PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane library. (2) Study selection: articles about driving ability and reported driving difficulties in patients with dizziness, or a diagnosed vestibular disorder, were included. (3) Data extraction was performed by two independent authors using predefined data fields: patient's characteristics, diagnostic criteria, sample size, and type of evaluation of driving ability and outcome of the study. Results: Eight out of 705 articles matched the inclusion criteria but varied widely regarding the study population, study design, and outcome measures. The majority of studies reported a negative impact of dizziness and/or vestibular disorders on self-reported driving ability and car accidents. Yet several studies could not identify any impairment of driving ability. Conclusions: Driving ability was negatively affected by dizziness or a vestibular disorder in the majority of included studies with low risk of bias. This systematic review revealed a significant heterogeneity in studies reporting driving performance and contradictory results. We were, therefore, unable to identify a causal relationship between dizziness and driving ability. There is a need for prospective studies in populations with different vestibular disorders using subjective and objective outcome measures that have been validated to evaluate driving performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: With age, medical conditions impairing safe driving accumulate. Consequently, the risk of accidents increases. To mitigate this risk, Swiss law requires biannual assessments of the fitness to drive of elderly drivers. Drivers may prove their cognitive and physical capacity for safe driving in a medically supervised driving test (MSDT) when borderline cases, as indicated by low performance in a set of four cognitive tests, including e.g. the mini mental status test (MMST). Any prognostic, rather than indicative, relations for MSDT outcomes have neither been confirmed nor falsified so far. In order to avoid use of unsubstantiated rules of thumb, we here evaluate the predictive value for MSDT outcomes of the outcomes of the standard set of four cognitive tests, used in Swiss traffic medicine examinations.Methods: We present descriptive information on age, gender and cognitive pretesting results of all MSDTs recorded in our case database from 2017 to 2019. Based on these retrospective cohort data, we used logistic regression to predict the binary outcome MSDT. An exploratory analysis used all available data (model 1). Based on the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC), we then established a model including variables age and MMST (model 2). To evaluate the predictive value of the four cognitive assessments, model 3 included cognitive test outcomes only. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) and area under the curve (AUC) allowed evaluating discriminative performance of the three different models using independent validation data.Results: Using N = 188 complete data sets of a total of 225 included cases, AIC identified age (p < 0.0008) and MMST (p = 0.024) as dominating predictors for MSDT outcomes with a median AUC of 0.71 (95%-CI 0.57-0.85) across different training and validation splits, while using the four cognitive test results exclusively yielded a median AUC of 0.55 (95%-CI 0.40-0.71).Conclusions: Our analysis provided strong evidence for age as the single most dominant predictor of MSDT outcomes. Adding MMST provides only weak additional predictive value for MSDT outcomes. Combining the results of four cognitive test used as standard screen in Swiss traffic medicine alone, proved to be of poor predictive value. This highlights the importance of MSDTs for balancing between the mitigation of risks by and the right to drive for the elderly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study explores the effect of glaucomatous visual field defects on several neuropsychological tests that are often used in research and in clinical settings. Methods: Nineteen glaucoma patients and nineteen healthy participants, which are current drivers and older than 65 years old were included. All participants completed the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), the Trail Making Test (TMT), the Benton Visual Retention Test (BVRT), the Snellgrove Maze Task (SMT) and the Digit Span Test (DST). All participants were also tested on contrast sensitivity and near and far visual acuity. For the glaucoma patients, visual field tests were downloaded from hospital servers. Results: On the MoCA test, glaucoma patients scored lower than the healthy group, but not significantly. On the MoCA‐Blind, the difference was statistically significant. Glaucoma patients also had lower percentile scores on the TMT, with a significant difference in the TMT‐A, but this difference largely disappeared in the calculated TMT B‐A index, which isolates the cognitive component. The BVRT and SMT showed no significant differences between both groups. In the only non‐visual test, the DST, glaucoma patients outperformed the healthy group. Glaucoma severity did not influence results, except for the BVRT on which the moderate/severe group has better scores. Conclusion: Using visual items might lead to conclusions about cognition when it should be one about vision. Therefore, careful selection of tests is needed when examining cognition in glaucoma patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medical fitness to drive in Victoria is currently governed by the Austroads Fitness to Drive Guidelines. Doctors are expected to review the 188-page document and advise patients in relation to their unique medical condition. Patients must then report themselves to the driver licensing authority if they are unfit to drive. Despite multiple recommendations from coroners, there is no mandatory reporting system in Victoria, as mandatory reporting is disliked by both doctors and patients. Research has shown that binary decision trees are more accurate than doctors in determining fitness to drive. This article proposes a phone application implementing yes-no decision trees for each condition in the guidelines to increase accuracy and documentation rates and protect doctors from liability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Directive (EU) 2015/653 aimed at facilitating that the maximum force that any disabled driver could make on the vehicle’s primary controls could be adjusted to their needs. The technical adjustment in the vehicle’s design requires a measurement of the operational forces applied by the driver on the steering and brake controls, in order to determine its functional capacity during the execution of driving manoeuvres. The objective of this paper is to define the steering and braking operative forces used for driving current-market M1 motor vehicles for the fitness to drive assessment of drivers with physical disabilities. A total of 200 trials were performed with 17 different vehicles and 26 drivers. The results obtained help to define a new threshold’s criteria for operative forces onto the steering and braking systems for adapting motor vehicles to disabled drivers. The main contribution of this paper consist on a new technical recommendations about the use of code 20.07 -braking- and 40.01 -steering- to be used in the fitness to drive assessment of driver with disabilities according to Directive (EU) 2015/653 requirements.

A pre-driving assessment usually involves standardised and non-standardised tests to examine the skills for safe driving of people with disabilities. However, it is still unknown to what extent the pre-driving assessments are being practised among occupational therapists in Malaysia. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the association of challenges, attitudes, and skills of occupational therapists towards practising driving rehabilitation and explore the most used predriving assessment. A cross-sectional study had been conducted from July to September 2020. The convenient sampling method was used to recruit experienced occupational therapists in driving rehabilitation. A total of 53 therapists had completed an online survey. According to the results, the bivariate correlation between skills and challenges was positive and strong (rs = 0.680, p < 0.05). A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) indicated that workplace variables had a significant effect on the combined dependent variables of challenges, attitudes, and skills, F(3,49) = 4.521 p = 0.007, partial Ƞ² = 0.217. This study found that the most used standardised assessment was the range of motion (n = 39, 73.6 %) and the right and left discrimination (n = 40, 75.5 %). The findings of this study identified that occupational therapists challenges and attitudes are significantly associated with the skills to practice driving rehabilitation. Malaysian occupational therapists working in the government sector reported better skills than those working in the private sector. Furthermore, numerous types of pre-driving assessments were used and vary from setting to setting. This study hopes to benefit occupational therapists and related rehabilitation practitioners towards a holistic understanding of Malaysia's driving rehabilitation practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: In this study, we investigated if health professionals' evaluations of driving ability corresponded with measures of severity of alcohol use and measures of cognitive functions necessary for safely driving a car. Methods: A total of 90 participants from a multicentre study were included. Participants were categorised into three groups: (1) the group judged fit to drive (FIT); (2) the group judged not fit to drive (UNFIT); and (3) the group who had lost their driver's licence due to legal sanctions (LEGAL). The participants' AUDIT scores, earlier treatment episodes and results from neuropsychological tests of reaction time, attention and visuospatial ability were included in the analyses. Results: We found a significant difference in the severity of alcohol use disorder (AUD) and visuospatial abilities between the FIT and UNFIT groups. Half of the UNFIT group had at least mild visuospatial difficulties, compared to only a quarter in the FIT group. There were no group differences in reaction time or attentional measures. The LEGAL group had more severe AUD than the other groups. Conclusion: The FIT group did not perform differently from the UNFIT group on attention and reaction time measures. The UNFIT group had more visuospatial impairments, but even half of this group had normal scores. It is uncertain whether the differences between the two groups are of practical significance. The quality of health professionals' evaluations may be questioned, and the results highlight the need for more reliable and valid criteria for doing fitness to drive evaluations., Competing Interests: The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article., (© The Author(s) 2024.)

Many diseases are accompanied by symptoms that can impair the ability to perform complex everyday tasks, such as active participation in road traffic. If a cure is not possible, the aim of drug therapy is to alleviate the symptoms to such an extent that the patient no longer has any restrictions in everyday life. However, around 20% of the approximately 100,000 medicines licensed in Germany have traffic-relevant side effects that can also lead to driving impairment.It is assumed that the effect of a drug is at least partially responsible for one in four traffic accidents and that one in ten victims of fatal road accidents has taken psychotropic drugs before driving. In addition to alcohol and drugs, medications from the benzodiazepine, opioid, and antidepressant groups are suspected of impairing driving safety in particular. The effects of these substances on young people have been described many times, but this review deals specifically with the traffic-relevant (side) effects of various classes of drugs on elderly people (aged 65 and over).Older people in particular often have to take different medications, which are metabolized differently compared to younger people due to underlying diseases and can also interact with each other. It was found that (1) older people often react more sensitively to substances, (2) not all representatives of a drug class have the same effect on driving safety, and (3) a general assessment of a drug's safety is not possible, since the effects also depend on other factors such as underlying diseases, treatment regimen, and the time of day the medication is taken., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The prevalence of cardiovascular diseases increases with age. Common symptoms such as dyspnea, chest pain, dizziness, or syncope can impact driving fitness. Due to a growing number of private drivers aged 65 and older and an increasing prevalence of cardiovascular diseases, questions regarding driving fitness restrictions for cardiological patients are gaining prominence in clinical settings. This article aims to summarize current recommendations for driving fitness in the context of cardiovascular diseases. The basis for the guidelines includes the Driving License Ordinance, the expert assessment guidelines of the Federal Highway Research Institute, and the guidelines of the German Society of Cardiology on driving fitness. Original literature on this topic is limited.Emphasizing an individualized assessment, clear guidelines for driving fitness in cardiac diseases or their symptoms and treatments are formulated. Regardless of the cardiac condition, the symptoms and likelihood of sudden loss of consciousness play a leading role in driving fitness assessment. Resulting impairments can range from a few weeks to a complete revocation of driving fitness. Regular examinations and differentiated assessments by medical professionals are prerequisites for maintaining driving fitness.The driving fitness of older private drivers is a significant and practical topic in cardiology. Current guidelines support the treating physicians in providing appropriate recommendations., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Objectives: To determine whether caregiver opinion of fitness to drive and the level of assistance needed for functional activities are useful in determining the need for a Comprehensive Driving Evaluation. Methods: This study examined a sample (N = 179) of drivers with dementia. Caregivers completed a questionnaire that included caregiver opinion of driving fitness and the Functional Assessment Questionnaire (FAQ). A univariate simple logistic regression model was used to examine the relationship of road test failure with caregiver opinion of driving fitness and FAQ scores. From the significant predictive variables from the univariate test, multiple logictic regression models were used to examine possible combination of variables as predictors of road test failure. Results: The combination of caregiver opinion of driving fitness and the FAQ sub-item for memory were found to have modest ability in predicting failure on a standardized on-road driving assessment (AUC 0.727). Conclusions: Caregiver opinion of driving fitness and most individual higher order activities of daily living were found to be independent predictors of failure on a standardized road test. Clinical Implications: Caregiver opinion of driving fitness and ratings of functional activities may be useful for families and clinicians in considering whether an adult with dementia should be more carefully assessed for fitness to drive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]