Motor vehicle crashes and violations among drivers with multiple sclerosis

Schultheis MT, Garay E, Millis SR, DeLuca J. Motor vehicle crashes and violations among drivers with multiple sclerosis. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2002;83:1175-8. Objective: To investigate differences in the incidence of motor vehicle crashes (MVCs) and violations among drivers with multiple sclerosis (MS) when cognitive impairment is present. Design: Archival evaluation of Department of Motor Vehi- cles (DMV) records. Setting: Medical rehabilitation research organization. Participants: Community-dwelling drivers, 27 subjects with documented MS (14 MS without cognitive impairment (MS), 13 MS with cognitive impairment (MS)) and 17 healthy control subjects, matched on age, sex, and driving experience. Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures: Incidence of MVCs and motor vehicle violations as documented by DMV reports for the past 5 years. Results: MS subjects showed a higher incidence of MVCs when compared with control and MS subjects. No significant difference in the incidence of motor vehicle violations was observed between groups. Conclusions: The presence of cognitive impairment in driv- ers with MS can result in an increased risk of MVC involve- ment.