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The Car Use ofYoung Drivers with Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus Barbara Simms ~1obility

Centre, Carshalton, Surfey, U.K.

Summary This study aimed to collect information on the car use and driving experiences of drivers with spina bifida and hydrocephalus and their disabled and able-bodied peers. A questionnaire was completed by 36 drivers with spina bifida and hydrocephalus (SBH) and two control groups, 36 able-bodied (AB) drivers and 14 dri\'ers with cerebral palsy (CP). Hesults indicated that although those with SBH and CP took langer to learn to drive than their AB peers and reported more difficulties during the tuition period, the nature of the difficulties experienced were the same for all groups. [n the first year of driving those with SBH and CP reported a lower weekly mileage but a higher number of accidents than their able-bodied peers. The SBH group were also less likely to travel on unfamiliar routes and reported greater difficulties with route planning and route following. rv1any drivers from both disabled and able-bodied groups reported difficuIties with parking and reversing during the first year of driving and would have welcomed advice in these (and other) areas. rv1any SBH and CP dri\'ers were unable to use sen'ice stations independently due to physical difficulties, and some would have liked advice on how to use the equipment. Although most drivers considered that being able to drive had given them more freedom and independence, the provision of on-going adviee and training was needed to develop driving skills in the early years as a qualified driver,

cern to find (from annual follow-up studies at Banstead Mobility Centre) that a number of recently qualified SBH drivers were either no longer driving or were making limited use of their driving skills. The primary aim of this study, therefore, was to coIIect more detailed information on the car use and driving experiences of young qualified drivers with spina bifida and hydrocephalus. A subsidiary, but nevertheless important, aim was to compare the car use of SBH drivers with their able-bodied peers and with other young people \vith a disability.

Method Subjects The 86 subjects (Ss) were: - 36 SBl-{ drivers (27 males, ~ females; mean age: 23 yrs, range: 17-34 ~TS), 36 able-bodied (AB) drivers (16 males, 20 females; mean age: 21 yrs, range: 18-28 yrs) and 14 Cerebral Palsy (CP) drivers (8 males, 6 females; mean age: 24 )TS, range: 18-34 yrs). All except 10 of the drivers were in employment or training or were fuIl-time students. Gf the 10 unemployed Ss, 7 had spina bifida / hydrocephalus, 2 had cerebral palsy and 1 had no physical disability. Educationally, 75 % of AB drivers had achieved vocational or academic qualifications at an advanced level, compared with 28 % of SBH drivers and 29 % of CP drivers.

Procedure

DisabiJity - Driving - Spina bifida and hydrocephalus

Introduction Previous studies on driving with spina bifida and hydrocephalus have concentrated on the most appropriate methods of assessing potential driving ability (1, 2) and the difficulties encountered by learner drivers during the tuition period (3, 4). These studies have indicated that the factors determining driving success in young people with SBH are not solely related to individual physical or intellectual abilities but to personal finance and local driving school facilities. In view of the difficulties experienced by many learner drivers in reaching Driving Test standard, it was of conReceived July 15, 1991 Eur J Pediatr Surg 1, Suppt I (1991) 31 ~34 Hippokrates Verlag Stuttgart . ~\asson Editeur Paris