PSYCHIATRIC ILLNESS AND DRIVING PERFORMANCE

As a group, psychiatric patients present a higher incidence of road traffic accidents; nevertheless, certain diagnostic categories may account for the greater part of these risks: alcoholism, dementia, personality disorders and paranoid ideation of whatever origin. As for the rest, there is still a lack of conclusive studies. Even though on paper the majority of psychoactive drug cause disturbances in the psychomotor functions related to driving performance, it is not altogether clear whether this could be minimised when they are used on psychiatric patients whose level of risk without treatment may be even higher. On the other hand, the introduction of new molecules having lesser effect on psychomotor functions and interaction with alcohol, opens a door to improvement and prevention of road accident risk in psychiatric patients. (A)

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/11198060
• Corporate Authors:

  International Association for Accident and Traffic Medicine

  Huddinge University Hospital Center, Traffic Medicine Center
  Stockholm,   Sweden  141 86
• Authors:
  • MENENDEZ, A G
• Publication Date: 1994

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: References;
• Pagination: p. 145-52
• Serial:
  • Journal of traffic medicine
  • Volume: 22
  • Issue Number: 4
  • Publisher: International Association for Accident and Traffic Medicine
  • ISSN: 0345-5564

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crashes; Driving; Drugs; Hazards; Mental illness
• Uncontrolled Terms: Psychosis
• ITRD Terms: 1643: Accident; 1855: Driving (veh); 2242: Drugs; 9150: Risk
• Subject Areas: Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00677418
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transport Research Laboratory
• Files: ITRD, ATRI
• Created Date: May 25 1995 12:00AM