BrianOtt, Alzheimers Disease & Memory Disorders Center, Rhode Island HospitalAPC 6, 593 Eddy Street, Providence, RI 02903bott@lifespan.org
William C. Heindel, George D. Papandonatos, Elena K. Festa, Jennifer D. Davis, Lori A. Daiello, Providence, RI, and John C. Morris, St. Louis, MO
Submitted September 22, 2008
We thank Drs. Mandel and Maitz for their interest in our study. They bring up a number of important public policy issues we did not address and which deserve thoughtful consideration by our government policymakers.
We agree that further research is needed to inform physicians and policymakers on the best ways to limit drivers who are cognitively impaired without unfairly restricting their autonomy by premature termination of driving privileges. Furthermore, we feel that it will be important to subject any new driving policies to longitudinal empirical testing in order to assess their effectiveness and to refine those policies.
The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) recently published a position statement on physician reporting of medical conditions that may affect driving competence, with which we agree. [3]
As our society ages and our expanding population of older drivers becomes vulnerable to cognitive impairment, it will become increasingly important to bring these issues to the forefront of public discussions.
References
3. Bacon D, Fisher RS, Morris JC, Rizzo M, Spanaki MV. American Academy of Neurology position statement on physician reporting of medical conditions that may affect driving competence. Neurology 2007;68:1174-1177.
We thank Drs. Mandel and Maitz for their interest in our study. They bring up a number of important public policy issues we did not address and which deserve thoughtful consideration by our government policymakers.
We agree that further research is needed to inform physicians and policymakers on the best ways to limit drivers who are cognitively impaired without unfairly restricting their autonomy by premature termination of driving privileges. Furthermore, we feel that it will be important to subject any new driving policies to longitudinal empirical testing in order to assess their effectiveness and to refine those policies.
The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) recently published a position statement on physician reporting of medical conditions that may affect driving competence, with which we agree. [3]
As our society ages and our expanding population of older drivers becomes vulnerable to cognitive impairment, it will become increasingly important to bring these issues to the forefront of public discussions.
References
3. Bacon D, Fisher RS, Morris JC, Rizzo M, Spanaki MV. American Academy of Neurology position statement on physician reporting of medical conditions that may affect driving competence. Neurology 2007;68:1174-1177.
Disclosures: The authors report no disclosures.