Consensus Statements on Driving in People with Parkinson’s Disease

Classen, S. (2014). Consensus statements on driving in people with Parkinson’s disease. Occupational Therapy in Health Care, 28 (2), 140-147.

Synopsis:

Parkinson’s disease (PD) can lead to motor and non-motor impairments that may affect fitness to drive. It has been suggested that individuals with PD may exhibit driving difficulty on the road and during simulation compared to healthy controls. However, no current evidence-based guidelines exist for helping occupational therapists determine the fitness to drive of their patients with PD. This paper presents three consensus statements that take into account motor impairment, overall severity of PD, and risk factors that may further impair driving (e.g., age, medication use). These statements support fitness to drive determinations by occupational therapists and other driver rehabilitation specialists and provide targeted recommendations for addressing driving and community mobility for persons with PD from initial diagnosis through late stage disease.