Citation

Drickamer MA, Marottoli RA. Am. J. Med. Sci. 1993; 306(5): 277-281.

Affiliation

Veterans Administration Medical Center, West Haven, Connecticut 06516.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1993, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

8238080

Abstract

This study describes the present physician practice of counseling patients about driving and reporting potentially unsafe drivers. A survey was sent to all licensed general practitioners, internists, ophthalmologists, neurologists, and neurosurgeons in Connecticut. Fifty-nine percent (2,049/3,450) of eligible physicians responded to the questionnaire. Seventy-seven percent of responding physicians stated that they discussed driving with their patients and 14% reported patients to the Department of Motor Vehicles. Specialists were more likely to discuss driving. Seventy-four percent of physicians thought that after a certain age individuals should be screened for their ability to drive. Overall, 59% of physicians thought it was their responsibility to report unsafe drivers to the Department of Motor Vehicles and the primary reasons for reporting were that driver safety was a public health issue and that potentially unsafe drivers posed a risk to themselves or to others. It was concluded that physicians recognize that driving safety is an important public health issue that needs better-defined legal and medical guidelines.