title: Role of premorbid factors in predicting safe return to driving after severe TBI.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The present study explored the possibility of predicting post-injury fitness to safe driving in patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) (n = 66).
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixteen different measures, derived from four domains (demo/biographic, medico-functional, neuropsychological, and psychosocial) were used as predictor variables, whereas driving outcomes were assessed in terms of driving status (post-TBI drivers versus non-drivers) and driving safety (number of post-TBI car accidents and violations).
  
  
  RESULTS
  About 50% of the patients resumed driving after TBI. Compared to post-TBI non-drivers, post-injury drivers had shorter coma duration. With regard to driving safety, the final multiple regression model combined four predictors (years post-injury, accidents and violations before TBI, pre-TBI-risky-personality-index, and pre-TBI-risky-driving-style-index) and explained 72.5% of variance in the outcome measure.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Since the best three predictors of post-injury driving safety addressed patients' premorbid factors, the results suggest that in order to evaluate the actual possibility of safe driving after TBI, it would be advisable to consider carefully patients' pre-TBI histories.
authors.affiliation: Ausiliatrice Hospital, Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pietrapiana
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tamietto
authors.forename: Gaia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Torrini
authors.forename: Tiziana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mezzanato
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rago
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Perino
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000517:prevention & control; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000523:psychology* / Q000592:standards; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D003071:Cognition; D020207:Coma, Post-Head Injury / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods; D012309:Risk-Taking