P03-587 - ADHD and driving

Abstract

People with ADHD are more often found to be involved in automobile accidents as well as attained a higher number of driving violations as compared with the statistical norm. The main reasons which might cause these differences are: attention deficit due to distractions, impulsive actions, as well as the elevated co-morbidity with alcohol and drugs. ADHD should be considered and reviewed as an influential factor of driver fitness. By treating ADHD with certain stimulatory medications very successful results have been obtained. These results include a better ability to adapt to traffic situations, avoiding accidents as well as following traffic regulations.In an own study, we compared 27 untreated clinical referred adults with ADHD with 27 controls matched by age and gender. Nineteen of the ADHD-subjects performed a test battery to assess driving related cognitive measures and were reassessed after at least six weeks of treatment with methylphenidate (n = 9) or after a six week medication free period (n = 10). We found, that the ADHD subjects were more often fined and registered by traffic authorities and were more frequently involved in traffic accidents. Methylphenidate treatment resulted in improved performance, e.g. better visu-motor coordination, improved visual orientation and sustained attention, compared to baseline and the untreated control group.