ADHD and Driving: Ways to Be Safe

Editorial Comment

Any parent facing the prospect of a teenager getting behind the wheel of a car has every right to be alarmed, but when that child has displayed a constant inability to concentrate, and even perhaps sometimes erratic behaviour, that alarm is escalated, and rightly so.

This article gives some useful advice on how to aid a child displaying these behaviours to become a more responsible, and therefore safer driver.

By: Mark A. Shilensky

One of the most exciting things for any teenager is when they turn 16 and obtain a drivers' license. While nerve wracking for any parent, it is still an important rite of passage for any child. However, those parents who have teens with ADHD are often even more concerned, and adults with ADHD need to learn skills to be even more careful when driving.

Statistics show that in 2000, about 18 percent of individuals who died in automobile accidents were between the ages of 15 and 19. In two thirds of those tragedies, the youth was found to not be wearing a seatbelt. ADHD affected teens were found to have almost four times the number of car accidents as teens without the ADHD diagnosis. They were also found to have accidents resulting in bodily harm and they are three times more likely to be pulled over and cited for speeding.

After looking at the statistics, it may be a first reaction of parents with an ADHD child to not want them to drive at all, however unrealistic that desire may be. It is not that the ADHD teen should be restricted from driving, but much more important for family members to be much more involved in the learning process.

Many states have goen to the Graduated Driver Licensing System, or GDL, in order to minimize these statistics. In the first step of the program, the teen obtains a lerners permit, when a licensed driver must be in the car at all times. This allows parents to work with the ADHD child in learning skills to make for more safe driving. By practicing often, skills become more routine and easier for the ADHD affected individual to remember. The next step is the provisional license, where the teen must exhibit more responsible driving behavior before becoming a licensed driver. The ultimate reward of obtaining the drivers' license may be a force that will help the ADHD driver to be more safe.

ADHD provides challenges to drivers of any age. It is important that routines are followed and skills are practiced so that drivers with ADHD are able to deal with symptoms even when they are behind the wheel of a powerful vehicle.

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