I’m back in Maryland after driving up from Florida. The drive is a little over 1,000 miles and usually takes 16 to 18 hours, which I spread over 2 days. This year, that second day was filled with rain and 18-wheelers – a tough, tiring drive, requiring good concentration and driving skills.
I’ve made that drive twice a year for the past 6, even though I’ve lived with multiple sclerosis for the past 43. My driving skills are still sharp, but a study I’ve just read concerns me. The study, by German researchers and published in February, 2024 in Frontiers in Neurology, concludes that people with MS react slower, have more driving errors, and have a higher accident rate than control subjects, starting soon after diagnosis.
In the study, 97 people with early MS (6.4 years on average post-diagnosis) and a mean EDSS score of 2.5 drove in a simulator over urban and rural roads during the daytime in good weather. Several hazards were simulated requiring hitting the brakes quickly, such as a car pulling out unexpectedly and a person running onto the road. Driving errors, such as ignoring a red light, driving on the wrong side of the road, or driving too fast or too slowly, were also assessed. Most of the accidents occurred when the drivers were going too fast or faced an emergency challenge such as a child running into the road. But the accident rate also increased when people with MS were in driving situations that were monotonous.
Taking a driving test
A couple of years ago I was surprised by an unexpected driving test. It happened when I wanted to transfer my Maryland driver’s license to Florida and a licensing clerk named Brenda, seeing my little mobility scooter, asked “why do you use that?” I answered, simply, “I have trouble walking.” “Just a minute,” said Brenda, and she got up to speak with her supervisor. Uh, oh. A few minutes later, although I’d been licensed for over 50 years…although I’ve never had an accident and I’ve received only one ticket over more than 5 decades…Brenda told me I needed to take a driving test before I could drive in Florida, or anywhere else! She’d already cancelled my Maryland license.
So, very nervously, I took one later that day. I made a few turns, making sure to signal, and a u-turn. I backed up quickly and stopped without skidding. Surprisingly, I didn’t have to parallel park, but I guess they don’t do that much in Florida. And I passed the test.
But was this really necessary just because I rode in on a scooter and said I had trouble walking? I had never said anything about my MS.
Does MS make us dangerous drivers?
The German study concludes “PwMS [people with MS] have more problems in driving compared to controls, but it remains unclear which areas of MS-specific impairment impact driving ability in PwMS exactly and how great this impact is.”
“It should be noted that while we found differences between PwMS and controls in driving, this does not automatically translate to PwMS not being able to drive safely. There should be further research, especially research with on-road driving tests, as the data we have as of now would not justify recommending driving cessation for all PwMS. However, it shows that this is an important issue that should be discussed with PwMS early on.”
I agree. I don’t think Brenda, the clerk, should have decided I needed testing just because I was riding a scooter. After all, my driving record is excellent. But I do think that healthcare providers should discuss driving with all their patients who have a disability. Look for, and talk about, signs of impairment during routine exams.
We’d probably all be a little safer if more of those chats were held.
(This post first appeared on the Rare Disease Advisor website.)
(Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay)
