Is there an effective way to determine if someone is ready to drive after TBI?

Early Studies

Traumatic brain injury often affects cognitive abilities necessary for driving, such as spatial skills, a speed of mental processing, concentration, and judgment. It is important to determine when recovery has been sufficient to return to driving following injury. Return to driving is a marker for independence and is of great interest to most people experiencing severe TBI. A test of visual perceptual speed, the Useful Field of View (UFOV) Test was developed to assess driving skills in older people. Poor performance on the UFOV test is associated with driving difficulty among older people. Research at UAB has demonstrated that people with severe TBI also have difficulty performing this test. As with older people, is this an indication that driving would be a problem?

This Study

This study: included 60 people who had been referred for an on-the-road driving evaluation. The people had experienced a moderate-severe TBI an average of 17 months before the evaluation. The UFOV test (which is computer based and involves a pointing response) was administered prior to the on-the-road driving test. The driving test was observed by a driver evaluator and a data collector, who independently rated the driver’s performance. Performance on the UFOV test was significantly lower for those who struggled with the on-the-road driving test, as measured by the driving evaluator and data collector. The UFOV test performance was the best predictor of driving performance among the variables examined, with the exception of the age of the person with TBI. Older people performed better on the driving evaluation but were no better than younger people in performing the UFOV test.

Who May Be Affected By These Findings

People with traumatic brain injury, care providers in acute rehabilitation.

Caveats

The UFOV test can screen for readiness to resume driving but should not stand alone as a test of driving ability. An on-the-road test is still the gold standard for return to driving.

Bottom Line

The UFOV test is a brief and effective way of measuring a person’s readiness to take an on-the-road driving test.

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