Automobile Driving of People with Higher Brain Dysfunctions

Abstract

Following the Road Traffic Act revised in June 2002, disqualification provisions have been applied to medical conditions of dementia including Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. On the other hand, those with cognitive and/or behavioral problems following traumatic brain injury, cerebrovascular dis- eases, encephalitis, etc. are relative, but not absolute disqualification reasons for driving license. However, there exist no decisive clinical criteria that determine the driving fitness of so ─ called “higher brain dys- function” individuals. In this article, activities and situations of the driving evaluation clinic at Showa University were introduced and several characteristic individuals with higher brain dysfunction were reviewed. It is of great importance that we consider multidisciplinary approaches for the safety of automo- bile driving of cognitively handicapped individuals.