Driving and visuospatial performance in people with hemianopia

Abstract

Practical fitness to drive was studied in 28 patients with homonymous hemianopia (HH). More specifically, visual performance during driving and neuropsychologica l visuospatial test performance were compared and related. Visuospatial tests were a priori classified in four visuospatial sets, and were evaluated on three measures, namely lateralisation, speed, and accuracy. Driving safety and fluency was assessed by means of a practical test-ride and scored using a structured protocol. It was concluded that HH cannot be considered a definite contraindication for holding a drivers' licence since not all patients failed the testride. The most frequent remark made by the driving expert was a lack of stability in steering. It was found that visual performance during driving was significantly related to visuospatial test performance, operationally defined as a function of typical visual HH disability. A specific combination of the lateralisation, speed and accuracy measures of the visuospatial sets explained 77% of the variance in visual performance during driving.

Compensatory eye and head movements of patients with homonymous hemianopia in the naturalistic setting of a driving simulation

“…One aspect of daily living in which the impairment of visual exploration of the natural environment becomes most evident is driving a car. Studies examining the question, whether patients with HH can be rated safe to drive, with on-road assessments have produced inconclusive results with safe ratings ranging from 14 to 73 % of tested patients [8][9][10]. A major challenge with on-road driving tests, however, is the lack of standardized conditions (e.g.…”

Hazard Detection by Drivers with Paracentral Homonymous Field Loss: A Small Case Series

“…This policy is similar to that used for many years in The Netherlands [15], Switzerland, and Belgium.…”

The Impact of Macular Disease on Pedestrian Detection: A Driving Simulator Evaluation

“…Recent on-road studies have demonstrated that even mild to moderate peripheral field loss results in measurable decrements in driving performance, though most participants were still considered safe drivers Haymes et al, 2008). In on-road studies evaluating drivers with hemianopia (a more severe field loss involving half the visual field on one side in both eyes), between 30% and 80% of participants failed the driving test (Tant et al, 2002;Tant, 2008;Wood et al, 2008). In a driving simulator study, drivers with hemianopia had significantly poorer detection rates for pedestrians on the side of their visual loss than on their unaffected side, despite their attempts to compensate by scanning toward the non-seeing side of the field (Bowers et al, 2007;Bowers et al, 2008).…”