Dementia

New Guideline for Driving With Dementia

A guideline on how clinicians should assess driving risk and manage driving safety among patients with cognitive impairment who drive was released by a diverse group of clinicians and experts from the United Kingdom, including those from the Alzheimer’s Society and the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

 

While some sections of the guideline are specific to UK laws, US health care practitioners can still take away key points in how to assess and manage the driving safety of their patients with dementia or mild cognitive impairment.

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As the guideline points out, a diagnosis of dementia does not automatically mean the patient has to stop driving; the health care provider can assess when the patient’s condition has deteriorated to the point when it is no longer safe for him or her to drive. This assessment should be approached holistically, with cognitive tests and conversations with the patient.

 

The guideline offers 10 questions to ask a patient with dementia who drives, including:

  • Have you noticed any change in your driving skills?
  • Have you lost any confidence in your overall driving ability, leading you to drive less often or only in good weather?
  • Do others sound their horn or flash lights at you or show signs of irritation?
  • Have you ever become lost while driving?

 

The guideline also recommends 10 questions to ask family members of the patient with cognitive impairment, including:

  • Do you feel uncomfortable in any way driving with your relative?
  • Have you noticed any abnormal or unsafe driving behavior?

 

According to the guideline, patients should be made aware of how the cognitive impairment can affect their—and others’—safety while on the road as well as alternatives to them driving.

 

“The issue of driving with dementia or mild cognitive impairment is of vital importance to patients, their families and friends, and their clinicians,” wrote Wendy Burn, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, in the guideline’s forward. “The assessment and management of driving safety forms an important part of a holistic assessment of a person with cognitive impairment.”

 

—Colleen Murphy

 

Reference:

Driving with dementia or mild cognitive impairment: consensus guidelines for clinicians. Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom: Newcastle University; December 14, 2018. https://research.ncl.ac.uk/driving-and-dementia/consensusguidelinesforclinicians/Final%20Guideline.pdf. Accessed December 14, 2018.