Automobile Driving Fitness Assessment
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25759/spmfr.199Keywords:
Automobile Driving, Computer Simulation, Disability Evaluation, Licensure, PortugalAbstract
Introduction: The automobile driving ability should be properly evaluated. The fitness to drive assessment is a medical competence involving medical, legislation and technology expertise. This should include a careful objective exam and performance tasks, which can be conveniently followed-up with a test in a driving simulator. In Portugal there is only a driving simulator for these effects. This study aims to characterize and promote the work done in the Mobility Centre of a Rehabilitation Medicine Centre in the context of assessing fitness to drive in individuals with disabilities.
Material and Methods: There was carried out the characterization of the individuals evaluated in the current simulator (June 1, 2007 to December 31, 2013), particularly with regard to demographic characteristics, primary diagnosis, disability(ies) and evaluation result. Changes proposed after the fitness to drive assessment were studied too.
Results: There were 1.145 evaluations, referring to 1.061 different individuals. The average age of the patients was 45 ± 16 years, 73% were males and 83% had a driving license. The most frequent primary diagnosis and motor disability were, respectively, spinal cord injury (32%) and hemiplegia/hemiparesis (32%). The patients were fit without adaptations (18%) or with adaptations (54%), or unfit (10%). The fitness was considered conditional in 17% of cases, suggesting further assessments. From the 749 individuals considered fit (conditional or not) for driving an adapted car, 30% and 18% needed 3 and 2 distinct adaptations, respectively. 1.947 adjustments were suggested in total, among which the most frequent was the automatic gearbox (34%).
Conclusions: Any doctor can request a fitness to drive assessment by a multidisciplinary team (physiatrist and occupational therapist) with the particularity of conducting a test on a driving simulator. Driving is a complex task that requires attention and the proper use of physical, sensory and cognitive abilities. The fitness to drive assessment is essential whenever there are doubts about the individual’s competence, being the inclusion of a driving simulator test an important asset.
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