Driving ability in Parkinson's disease: current status of research.

ABSTRACT

Guidelines for assessing fitness to drive in individuals with neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson's disease (PD), are subjective. It is therefore timely to review the current status of the literature not only for health professionals who are required to assess fitness to drive, but also for the development of future research directions. This review, in the context of PD, outlines the complex changes in driving behaviours, motor vehicle crash rates, driving simulator and on-road driving ability assessments, the relationship between disease severity, duration, medication dose and driving performance, the relationship between driving and neuropsychological test performance, and the effect of dopaminergic medications on driving. While it provides a current overview of the ongoing research, more comprehensive research is required for the full and proper development of policies and guidelines for assessing fitness to drive in PD.