THE CORRELATION BETWEEN DRIVING PERFORMANCE AND COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE AMONG ADOLESCENTS WITH ADHD BEFORE TAKING DRIVING CLASSES

Background: The adolescents' rate of involvement in car accidents is higher than their rate among the overall driving population. The risk for accidents is 1.2 to 4 times higher among adolescents with ADHD than their peers... [ view full abstract ]

Background:
The adolescents' rate of involvement in car accidents is higher than their rate among the overall driving population. The risk for accidents is 1.2 to 4 times higher among adolescents with ADHD than their peers from the same age group. The present study compared the performance of adolescents with and without ADHD in a driving simulators and examined the correlation between cognitive functions and driving a simulator.

Methods:
Fifteen adolescents with ADHD and 17 adolescents without ADHD who attended regular education settings and didn't have a driving license participated in the study.
The subjects completed a simulated driving session with a 3D Driving-School simulator. Participants completed the Trail Making Test (TMT), the Motor free Visual Perception Test (MVPT), the Useful Field of View (UFOV) and their parents completed the Conner`s Parent Rating Scale (CPRS).

Results:
The only cognitive test that differed significantly between adolescents with ADHD and controls was the TMT-B test (t=24.811,p=0.01) with better performance in the control group. Simulator driving performance was significantly lower among ADHD participants in all driving parameters. Significance correlations were found between UFOV and pedestrian's hits and give away (r=-0.539,p=0.038;r=0.590,p=0.021 respectively). TMT-B and traffic light and speeding (r=-0.545,p=0.053; r=-0.564,p=0.028 respectively) only among ADHD.

Conclusions:
The characteristics of the simulated driving of adolescents who did not have a driving license were similar to those which were found during on-road driving among adolescents with ADHD. Trainer awareness could be considered as a primary intervention before taking driving lessons to help adolescents achieve safe driving performance.