Driving and mental illness

A new Japanese survey has shown that 1 in 6 suffering from dementia has caused a car accident of some degree since they were diagnosed with the condition. The survey carried out by the Japanese Psychogeriatric Society comes amid concerns in the country that people suffering from cognitive impairment are undertaking extreme driving practices including such extremes as driving the wrong way on express ways, the survey has revealed the effect dementia has had on car accidents in the country.

The survey showed that 11 per cent of people who have diagnosed are still driving and out of that 11 percent 16 percent (1-6) had caused an accident. Luckily, 93 percent of the accidents were on car or property damage accident, whilst the further 7 percent resulted in personal injury or death. This survey has shown that people suffering from dementia may not be fit to drive, but consider any other mental and physical ailments; are there any laws in the UK to help prevent people with physical and mental limitations driving and possibly causing an accident?

According to the Alzheimer’s Society there is no reason why a victim can’t drive for a little time after being diagnosed, but after a few years it will get to the point where the dementia will make it far too dangerous to drive.

The Alzheimer’s Society says that there are a few points to remember when judging your ability to drive such as making sense of and respond to everything they see, reading the road, following road signs, anticipating and reacting quickly to the actions of other road users, taking appropriate action to avoid accidents and remember where they are going.

When it comes to dementia it comes down to the individual but they must notify the DVLA of the condition and fill out a questionnaire, who will decide whether to revoke the license or get the person to take a driving assessment to assess their ability to drive.

Other mental illnesses which require the DVLA being notified are severe uncontrolled anxiety, severe depression with marked psychomotor retardation and/or psychosis Bipolar disorders, including hypomania or mania, acute psychotic disorder Schizophrenia or other chronic psychoses, alcohol or drug misuse or dependency.

With most mental illnesses, a doctor will advise on the best course of action to take when it comes to driving, depending on the severity of the illness but more often than not, he or she will advise against driving and surrendering your license to the DVLA. If you don’t surrender your license, then there is a chance that it may be revoked by the DVLA. If this were to happen, it would be harder to get it re-instated once you have fully recovered.

Notifying the DVLA is relatively simple, the process includes filling out a form and giving the DVLA consent to contact your doctor. Being open and honest will make it a lot easier for you to get on the road once fully recovered.

Suffering a mental illness is a hard time for everyone involved. It is far more dangerous to drive under the belief that one is fit enough to, than to surrender your license; this puts your own life as well as other passengers, drivers and pedestrians at risk. The most important thing to do is to seek out help and try to make a full recovery.