ADHD and driving safety

CNS spectrums, 2007

Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry = Journal de l'Académie canadienne de psychiatrie de l'enfant et de l'adolescent, 2006

This article examines the literature on ADHD and unintentional driving injury. This literature has emerged over the last decade as part of the burgeoning epidemic of road traffic death and injury which is the number one cause of death in young adults in North America. The available literature on observational outcome studies and experimental pharmacological interventions is critically reviewed. A meta-analysis of behavioral outcomes and a review of effect size of pharmacological studies are presented. Current data support the utility of stimulant medication in improving driving performance in younger ADHD drivers. A conceptual model of risk factors in young ADHD drivers is offered. The current state of screening instruments for identifying high risk subjects within this clinical group is summarized along with a final section on emerging trends and future prospects for intervention.

The ADHD Report, 2008

Accident Analysis & Prevention, 2014

Please cite this article as: Vaa, T.,ADHD and relative risk of accidents in road traffic: A meta-analysis, Accident Analysis and Prevention (2013), http://dx.

Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 2007

Objective To examine risky driving behaviors and negative driving outcomes in a large sample of adolescents and adults diagnosed in childhood with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) compared with demographically similar controls without ADHD. Methods 355 adolescents and young adults of the Pittsburgh ADHD Longitudinal Study (PALS) (n ¼ 203 probands; n ¼ 152 controls) were administered the Young Adult Driving Questionnaire. Parent and self-report of current ADHD symptoms and conduct problems were tested as potential mediators of the association between childhood ADHD and negative driving outcomes. Results ADHD group differences, of small to medium effect size, were found for number of tickets and accidents, and hyperactivity-impulsivity at follow-up emerged as a significant mediator of this association. Current conduct problems were associated with both risky and alcohol-impaired driving. Conclusions Childhood ADHD elevates risk for driving-related problems, especially when symptoms persist. Co-occurring conduct problems capture some of this risk.

Accident Analysis & Prevention, 2011

The present study aims to compare differences in reported risky driving behaviors of drivers -males and females -having and not having Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), by using a checklist of driving behaviors based on the Driving Behavior Questionnaire (DBQ). Unlike the studies which employ the DBQ by asking the subjects to fill the questionnaire once, in this present study, the participants were asked to report their behaviors on a daily basis for 30 consequent days. The checklist included two factors of risky driving behavior: Violation and Faults. Thirty-eight drivers -10 males and 9 females with ADHD, and 9 males and 10 females without ADHD (N-ADHD) as control groups -participated in the study. The results showed that the mean of the unsafe behaviors of ADHD was higher, i.e., less safe driving, compared to that of N-ADHD. However, a statistically significant effect was found only between male ADHD and male N-ADHD for the Faults. In order to check the effect of the length of the study, the 30 days duration of the research was divided into three consecutive periods. The reported driving habits of the female ADHD showed safer behaviors than those of the males. Unlike the findings of N-ADHD of both genders, which showed a tendency towards safer driving reports in the three periods, both genders of the ADHD showed higher rates of Faults, i.e., a decrease in safety driving reports, in the three periods. The findings suggest that ADHD drivers differ from the N-ADHD drivers in making driving mistakes, i.e., Faults, due to their lack of sustained attention, but not in making Violations. However, some of the results in the present study were not very strong. Possible explanations for this as well as methodological considerations are discussed, and further research is suggested.

Unpublished manuscript, 2005

The purpose of this study was to understand how Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) affects driving under single and dual-task (distraction) conditions. ADHD and control participants self-reported various driving outcomes and completed a battery of psychological tests and a car following task in a driving simulator. While driving, participants also attempted common secondary tasks such as operating the CD player or having a simulated cell phone conversation. Results found that the ADHD group was 4.4 times more likely to have received a traffic citation and 3.6 times more likely to be in a crash. People in the ADHD group performed worse on psychomotor tests measuring concentration and stress tolerance. The ADHD group was more sporadic in terms of input control through the accelerator pedal, which resulted in less stable headway maintenance. The ADHD group also showed lower coherence and a longer delay in responding to lead-vehicle speed changes. Discussion focuses on the implications of the results for future research and the testing, licensing, and training of ADHD drivers.

International Journal of New Technology and Research, 2019

He is a faculty member teaching in the Departments of Psychology and Criminal Justice in San Antonio, Texas for Pierce College and serves as a content expert on dissertation committees for Grand Canyon University School of Doctoral Studies regarding quantitative studies for doctoral candidates. Dr. Clingan specializes in preeminent psychology as applied within the field of criminology. His psychology work is based upon field experience in criminal trials since 2013 and heavily influenced by the theoretical frameworks of Dr. Paul Ekman and measuring nonverbal communication. Loves writing and riding his Indian Motorcycle.

BMC Psychiatry, 2015

Background: Little is known about the impact of cognitive impairments on driving in adults with ADHD. The present study compared the performance of adults with and without ADHD in a driving simulator on two different routes: an urban route which we hypothesised would exacerbate weak impulse control in ADHD and a motorway route, to challenge deficits in sustained attention. Methods: Adults with (n = 22, 16 males) and without (n = 21, 18 males) ADHD completed a simulated driving session while eye movement data were recorded simultaneously. Participants also completed the Manchester Driving Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ) and the Conners Adult ADHD Rating Scale (CAARS). Measures of driving performance included average speed, proportion distance travelled over speed limit (speeding) and lane deviation. These variables and the eye movement measures (spread of fixations, mean fixation duration) were compared between groups and routes. Also, driving behaviours, including responses to programmed events, were categorised and the frequencies within categories were compared between groups. Finally, speech analysis was performed to compare emotional verbal expressions during driving between groups. Results: ADHD participants reported significantly more Violations and Lapses on the DBQ than control participants and significantly more accidents. Average speed and speeding were also higher but did not interact with route type. ADHD participants showed poorer vehicle control, greater levels of frustration with other road users (including greater frequencies of negative comments) and a trend for less safe driving when changing lanes/overtaking on the motorway. These effects were predicted by hyperactive/impulsive CAARS scores. They were also more likely to cause a crash/near miss when an event occurred on the urban route. Conclusions: The results suggest that difficulty regulating and controlling impulsive behavior, reflected in speeding, frustration with other road users, less safety when changing lanes on the motorway and a greater likelihood of an accident following an unexpected event, underlie impaired driving in ADHD. Hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms correlated with these indices. Deficits in sustained attention seemed to play a lesser role in this particular study, although further research is needed to determine whether effects on attention emerge over longer periods of time and/or are influenced by the novelty of the simulator environment.

2005

Introduction: Numerous studies have documented an increased frequency of vehicular crashes, traffic citations, driving performance deficits, and driving-related cognitive impairments in teens and adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Method: The present study evaluated the effects of two single, acute doses of methylphenidate (10 and 20 mg) and a placebo on the driving performance of 53 adults with ADHD (mean age = 37 years, range = 18 -65) using a virtual reality driving simulator, examiner and self-ratings of simulator performance, and a continuous performance test (CPT) to evaluate attention and inhibition. A double-blind, drug-placebo, within-subjects crossover design was used in which all participants were tested at baseline and then experienced all three drug conditions. Results: A significant beneficial effect for the high dose of medication was observed on impulsiveness on CPT, variability of steering in the standard driving course, and driving speed during the obstacle course. A beneficial effect of the low dose of medication also was evident on turn signal use during the standard driving course. An apparent practice effect was noted on some of the simulator measures between the baseline and subsequent testing sessions that may have interacted with and thereby obscured drug effects on those measures. Conclusions: The results, when placed in the context of prior studies of stimulants on driving performance, continue to recommend their clinical use as one means of reducing the driving risks in ADHD teens and adults. Impact on industry: Given the significantly higher risk of adverse driving outcomes associated with ADHD, industry needs to better screen for ADHD among employees who drive as part of employment so as to improve safety and reduce costs. Use of stimulants to treat the adult ADHD driver may reduce safety risks. He has published numerous studies on the effects of medications on ADHD and on aggression in children.