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Age and Ageing, Vol 28, 53-57, Copyright © 1999 by British Geriatrics Society

ARTICLES

A survey of attitudes and knowledge of geriatricians to driving in elderly patients

ND Gillespie and ME McMurdo
Department of Medicine, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, Dundee, UK. N.D.GILLESPIE@dundee.ac.uk

OBJECTIVE: To assess the attitudes of consultant members of the British Geriatrics Society to elderly patients driving motor vehicles. DESIGN: An anonymous postal survey assessing knowledge and attitudes to driving in elderly people. A standardized questionnaire was used and five case histories were offered for interpretation. SETTING: The study was co- ordinated from a teaching hospital. SUBJECTS: The 709 consultant members of the British Geriatrics Society. Four hundred and eighteen responses were obtained, which represents a 59% response rate. RESULTS: 275 Respondents (68%) correctly realised that a person aged 70 had a duty to inform the Driving and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) about their eligibility to drive. The remainder did not. Most (315; 75%) believed that the overall responsibility for informing the DVLA was with the patient. If a patient was incapable of understanding advice on driving because of advanced dementia, 346 (83%) would breach patient confidentiality and inform the authority directly. Where a patient was fully capable of understanding medical advice but ignored it, 72% of geriatricians would have legitimately breached patient confidentiality and informed the DVLA. Most geriatricians (88%) saw their main role as one of providing advice on driving to patients and their families. Enforcing DVLA regulations was not seen as an appropriate function, unless the patient was a danger to themselves or other drivers. CONCLUSIONS: There is a wide variation in knowledge of driving regulations and attitudes to driving in elderly patients. Better education of geriatricians should improve awareness of when elderly drivers can safely continue to drive.
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