title: Vision-related fitness to drive mobility scooters: A practical driving test.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate practical fitness to drive mobility scooters, comparing visually impaired participants with healthy controls.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between-subjects design.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-six visually impaired (13 with very low visual acuity, 10 with low visual acuity, 11 with peripheral field defects, 12 with multiple visual impairment) and 35 normal-sighted controls.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants completed a practical mobility scooter test-drive, which was recorded on video. Two independent occupational therapists specialized in orientation and mobility evaluated the videos systematically.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Approximately 90% of the visually impaired participants passed the driving test. On average, participants with visual impairments performed worse than normal-sighted controls, but were judged sufficiently safe. In particular, difficulties were observed in participants with peripheral visual field defects and those with a combination of low visual acuity and visual field defects.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  People with visual impairment are, in practice, fit to drive mobility scooters; thus visual impairment on its own should not be viewed as a determinant of safety to drive mobility scooters. However, special attention should be paid to individuals with visual field defects with or without a combined low visual acuity. The use of an individual practical fitness-to-drive test is advised.
authors.affiliation: Clinical and developmental neuropsychology, University of Groningen, 9712TS Groningen, The Netherlands. c.cordes@rug.nl.
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cordes
authors.forename: Joost
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Heutink
authors.forename: Oliver M
authors.initials: OM
authors.lastname: Tucha
authors.forename: Karel A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Brookhuis
authors.forename: Wiebo H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Brouwer
authors.forename: Bart J M
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Melis-Dankers
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000523:psychology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D011211:Electric Power Supplies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D051346:Mobility Limitation; D018986:Motor Vehicles; D015541:Off-Road Motor Vehicles; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods; D012656:Self-Help Devices / Q000523:psychology; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D014792:Visual Acuity; D014794:Visual Fields