Driving is challenging for Parkinson's patients

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

NEW YORK, Nov 30 (Reuters) Evidence continues to mount that people who suffer from Parkinson's disease may have trouble driving safely, particularly when faced with everyday distractions like talking to a passenger or on a cell phone.

''Multitasking such as cell phone or passenger conversation puts drivers with Parkinson's disease at higher risk of driving errors than controls,'' Dr. Ergin Y. CU of the University of Iowa and the VA Medical Center in Iowa City told Reuters Health.

CU and colleagues assessed the effects of these common distractions on driving performance in 71 drivers with mild to moderate Parkinson's disease and 147 drivers of similar age with no neurological disorders.

Drivers with Parkinson's disease made more ''at-fault safety errors'' than controls during both baseline driving tests and driving while distracted tests.

When distracted, 28 per cent of Parkinson's disease patients made more driving safety mistakes than they did when they were not distracted. In contrast, 16 per cent of healthy controls made excess driving errors while distracted.

During distracted driving, drivers with Parkinson's disease drove at slower speeds and were less able to control their speed and steering compared to controls.

Performing poorly on tests of memory, balance, vision and cognitive flexibility (the ability to switch attention between competing tasks) as well as daytime sleepiness predicted worsening driving performance due to distraction.

''Cognition and vision appear to be more predictive of driving ability than motor problems such as tremors,'' CU said. ''In our test battery, cognitive flexibility to switch attention between competing tasks was most important predictor of safety errors due to distraction.'' UK's latest findings, published in the journal Neurology this week, support a previous study, the investigator conducted, which showed that people with Parkinson's disease have difficulty spotting traffic signs and roadside landmarks while driving, and are more likely to make safety errors on the road.

''Clearly, Parkinson's disease can affect the ability to drive, and that effect grows as the disease progresses,'' CU said. ''People with Parkinson's disease should be aware of this potential decline in driving ability and their family and friends should also monitor it and then recheck periodically.'' Uc is leading a 5-year NIH-funded study to develop criteria on predicting driver safety in Parkinson's disease.

Reuters RL DB0925

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