AN EVALUATION OF THE ABILITY OF AMPUTEES TO OPERATE HIGHWAY TRANSPORT EQUIPMENT

The Interstate Commerce Act has placed severe restrictions upon commercial driving by amputees and others with physical impairments. The objectives of this project were to document the driving experience of the physically impaired and to test whether amputees differ from non-amputees in the operation of a simulated vehicle. A total of 100 persons were tested. Extensive physical anthropological measurements were collected for all subjects. All amputees also received thorough clinical interviews. Conclusions produced no evidence from this study that orthopedically impaired persons who are able to pass conventional driver licensing road tests have greater accident frequencies than do unimpaired ones. The experiments conducted support the view that, with appropriate power assists, unilateral orthopedic impairment should not necessarily impair driving performance. It would appear to be in order to reappraise the driving abilities of certain types of amputees. Furthermore, the orthopedically impaired person usually has a high degree of motivation to succeed as a safe driver. /Author/

• Corporate Authors:

  Harvard University

  Guggenheim Center for Aerospace Health and Safety
  Boston, MA  United States  02115
• Authors:
  • McFarland, R A
• Publication Date: 1968-12

Media Info

• Pagination: 48 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Amputees; Commercial vehicles; Driver performance; Drivers; Personnel performance; Persons with disabilities; Physical fitness; Testing
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00223037
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jun 10 1975 12:00AM