Driving Skills Decline With Early Alzheimer’s

People with mild dementia had more crashes and are almost 4 times more likely to fail road tests.

Seniors with early Alzheimer’s disease were involved in more traffic crashes and performed worse on road tests than drivers without cognitive impairment, a new study finds.

Researchers at Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University, confirm previous reports of potentially hazardous driving by people with early stage Alzheimer’s disease . The study also shows that some people with mild dementia are able to continue driving safely for short or even extended periods of time.

The study consisted of 84 people with early Alzheimer’s and a control group of 44 age-matched people without any cognitive impairment. The study was conducted over two to three years. The participants’ driving abilities were assessed through self-reports, family reports and a standardized road test.