MS Speaks

Whether or not a person with MS is able to drive is often an issue. Since an important part of our functioning can disappear on us very suddenly, it's understandable that the experts on driving fitness often find it difficult to determine accurately. This article abstract shows one way the problem is being investigated.

From PubMed, August 3, 2017:

OTJR [Occupational Therapy Journal of Research] (Thorofare N J). 2017 Aug 1:1539449217718841.

Visual Correlates of Fitness to Drive in Adults With Multiple Sclerosis

Classen S1, Krasniuk S2, Morrow SA3, Alvarez L2, Monahan M4, Danter T5, Rosehart H3.

Author information

1 University of Florida, Gainesville, USA.

2 University of Western Ontario, London, Canada.

3 London Health Sciences Centre, Ontario, Canada.

4 Driver Rehabilitation Institute, Santa Rosa, California, USA.

5 All Dominion Driver Training & Traffic Education Centres, Oakville, Ontario, Canada.

The impact of visual and visual-cognitive impairments on fitness to drive in persons with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) are not well studied. We quantified visual correlates of fitness to drive in 30 PwMS. PwMS completed visual ability and visual attention assessments, and a standardized on-road assessment, and were compared with 145 older volunteer drivers. PwMS (vs. older volunteer drivers) made more total ( W = 12,139, p = .03) and critical driving errors (predictive of crashes) in adjustment to stimuli ( W = 11,352, p < .0001), vehicle positioning ( W = 11,449, p < .0001), and wide lane turns ( W = 9,932, p < .0001). PwMS who failed (vs. passed) made more total ( W = 325, p = .04), adjustment to stimuli ( W = 321.5, p = .02), and gap acceptance errors ( W = 333, p = .03). For PwMS, adjustment to stimuli errors moderately correlated with visual acuity (ρ = .50, p = .006), and gap acceptance errors moderately correlated with visual processing speed (ρ = .40, p = .03). Visual-cognitive impairments may be indicative of critical driving errors and help identify PwMS at-risk for fitness to drive.

The abstract can be seen here