48 - Driving and Community Mobility

Abstract

The ability to drive plays an important part in the life roles of many people in industrially developed countries, because it is often the preferred means of maintaining good community mobility. Driving-related issues can therefore be very important for occupational therapists to address, because one goal of occupational therapy is to improve the occupational engagement of the people with whom they work. Driving a motor vehicle is an activity of daily living that requires a combination of sensory, perceptual/cognitive and motor abilities, which together enable a driver to develop the skills necessary to manoeuvre and navigate a vehicle through complex, dynamic environments. Occupational therapists working in a number of areas of practice have responsibility for identifying and educating individuals about the potential impact of sensory, perceptual/cognitive and motor limitations on their driving and community mobility. Many also provide education, resources and training related to alternative community mobility. Specialised individual assessments and interventions that are more specific to driving are usually the domain of occupational therapists who have completed recognised postgraduate training in driver assessment and rehabilitation. Such professionals are referred to in this chapter as occupational therapy driving specialists. Some of the main theoretical and empirically based foundations of occupational therapy practice in these areas are described in this chapter, along with an outline of the limitations most likely to affect driving and community mobility, the content and general procedures involved in driver assessments and associated rehabilitation approaches.