One of the main problems facing the medical profession, licensing authorities, and legislators is how to determine medical fitness to drive a vehicle. Driving requires many functions, including vision, mobility, reflexes, and cognition. Most of these can be, and are, tested, and national standards have been set and are followed. For example, visual acuity, depth perception, and visual field defects are regularly examined in physicians’ offices, and whether patients meet currently accepted standards is assessed. Of greater concern is cognition—the mental faculties of perception, thought, reason, and memory. Problems with poor or altered cognition (usually a result of aging) should be investigated in older drivers. Tests to determine cognitive function are not always standardized or reproducible. They are time-consuming and, most importantly, standards for determining decrease in cognitive function have not been established and applied consistently to drivers. (Author/publisher) See also C 32074 fo and C 32075 fo.
Abstract