Conference Proceeding

Driver Rehabilitation in Parkinson’s Disease Using a Driving Simulator: A Pilot 
Study

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Abstract

Parkinson’s disease (PD) impairs driving performance. In this pilot study, four drivers with PD (selected based on poor road driving performance in the past) participated in a rehabilitation program using a driving simulator. Two different training drives (#1- multiple intersections of varying visibility and traffic load, where an incurring vehicle posed a crash risk, #2- various scenarios on decision making, hazard perception and response) were administered in each session (total 3 sessions once every 1-2 weeks) with immediate feedback after the drives. We observed reduction in crashes in drive #1 and improved scores on drive #2 in the simulator. In addition, 3 subjects showed marked improvements in their total error counts on a standard road test between baseline and post-training sessions, one subject stayed stable. These findings suggest that our simulator training program is feasible and potentially useful in impaired drivers with PD.

How to Cite:

Uc, E., Rizzo, M., Anderson, S., Lawrence, J. & Dawson, J., (2011) “Driver Rehabilitation in Parkinson’s Disease Using a Driving Simulator: A Pilot 
Study”, Driving Assessment Conference 6(2011), 248-254. doi: https://doi.org/10.17077/drivingassessment.1404

Rights: Copyright © 2011 the author(s)