American Academy of Neurology position statement on physician reporting of medical conditions that may affect driving competence
Citation Manager Formats
Make Comment
See Comments

This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.
The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) represents over 20,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, many of whom have patients for whom driving is an uncertain privilege due to the progression of diseases that affect cognition, consciousness, vision, or motor skills. Physicians are expected to report a patient’s driving-related condition to driving authorities when it appears that the condition might pose a safety risk to the patient or others, especially when a patient is noncompliant with requests to be tested or stop driving. Making reporting a mandatory requirement, however, may have a strongly negative impact upon the patient–physician relationship, and may ultimately provide no greater safety benefits to the public or the patient, who may feel compelled to withhold important medical information. Poorly designed reporting laws may also expose physicians to undeserved liability for a patient’s driving outcomes, even when a physician has followed all applicable laws honestly and capably. For these reasons and more, the AAN has developed a new position statement to promote better policies for all parties involved in the discussion: patients, private citizens, and physicians alike.
Relevant contemporary political and legal issues.
Driving laws for individuals with relevant medical conditions vary greatly from state to state. Current or would-be drivers with medical conditions of interest are expected to disclose their condition to the state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and to obtain a physician’s note to confirm their fitness to drive. Many of these conditions (but not all) are neurologic in nature, such as dementia, epilepsy, and Parkinson disease.
On a discretionary or mandatory basis, a physician may be obligated to report a patient to the DMV when that patient’s medical condition makes driving a hazardous proposition. According to the Epilepsy Foundation, six states currently have some form of mandatory-reporting law in place (California, Delaware, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, and Pennsylvania) for various medical …
AAN Members
We have changed the login procedure to improve access between AAN.com and the Neurology journals. If you are experiencing issues, please log out of AAN.com and clear history and cookies. (For instructions by browser, please click the instruction pages below). After clearing, choose preferred Journal and select login for AAN Members. You will be redirected to a login page where you can log in with your AAN ID number and password. When you are returned to the Journal, your name should appear at the top right of the page.
AAN Non-Member Subscribers
Purchase access
For assistance, please contact:
AAN Members (800) 879-1960 or (612) 928-6000 (International)
Non-AAN Member subscribers (800) 638-3030 or (301) 223-2300 option 3, select 1 (international)
Sign Up
Information on how to subscribe to Neurology and Neurology: Clinical Practice can be found here
Purchase
Individual access to articles is available through the Add to Cart option on the article page. Access for 1 day (from the computer you are currently using) is US$ 39.00. Pay-per-view content is for the use of the payee only, and content may not be further distributed by print or electronic means. The payee may view, download, and/or print the article for his/her personal, scholarly, research, and educational use. Distributing copies (electronic or otherwise) of the article is not allowed.
Letters: Rapid online correspondence
- AAN position statement on physician reporting medical conditions that may affect driving competence
- Farrah J Mateen, Mayo Clinic, 7 - 11th Avenue NW, unit 1 Rochester, MN USA 55901farrah_mateen@hotmail.com
Submitted July 31, 2007 - Reply from the authors
- Robert S. Fisher, American Academy of Neurology, 1080 Montreal Ave, St Paul, MN 55116dbacon@aan.com
- Dana Bacon, John C. Morris, Matthew Rizzo, and Marianna V. Spanaki
Submitted July 31, 2007 - AAN position statement on physician reporting medical conditions that may affect driving competence
- Michael G. Adelberg, M.D., 9856 Business Park Dr I, Sacramento, CA 96827-1704mgamd@comcast.net
Submitted July 31, 2007 - Reply from AAN Counsel
- Murray G. Sagsveen, JD, CAE, American Academy of Neurology, 1080 Montreal Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55116msagsveen@aan.com
Submitted July 31, 2007
REQUIREMENTS
You must ensure that your Disclosures have been updated within the previous six months. Please go to our Submission Site to add or update your Disclosure information.
Your co-authors must send a completed Publishing Agreement Form to Neurology Staff (not necessary for the lead/corresponding author as the form below will suffice) before you upload your comment.
If you are responding to a comment that was written about an article you originally authored:
You (and co-authors) do not need to fill out forms or check disclosures as author forms are still valid
and apply to letter.
Submission specifications:
- Submissions must be < 200 words with < 5 references. Reference 1 must be the article on which you are commenting.
- Submissions should not have more than 5 authors. (Exception: original author replies can include all original authors of the article)
- Submit only on articles published within 6 months of issue date.
- Do not be redundant. Read any comments already posted on the article prior to submission.
- Submitted comments are subject to editing and editor review prior to posting.
You May Also be Interested in
Dr. Babak Hooshmand and Dr. David Smith
► Watch
Related Articles
Alert Me
Recommended articles
-
Articles
A longitudinal study of drivers with Alzheimer diseaseB. R. Ott, W. C. Heindel, G. D. Papandonatos et al.Neurology, January 23, 2008 -
Articles
Driving and Neurologic DisordersJoseph F. Drazkowski, Joseph I. Sirven et al.Neurology, February 14, 2011 -
Special Article
Position statement on laws and regulations concerning life-sustaining treatment, including artificial nutrition and hydration, for patients lacking decision-making capacityDana Bacon, Michael A. Williams, James Gordon et al.Neurology, April 02, 2007 -
Special Article
Brain death, the determination of brain death, and member guidance for brain death accommodation requestsAAN position statementJames A. Russell, Leon G. Epstein, David M. Greer et al.Neurology, January 02, 2019