Driving despite ADHD: Driving simulator helps young patients

According to medical experts, more than 3 million adolescents in the USA have been diagnosed with ADHD. The attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder is also likely to be widespread in this country: The Federal Ministry of Health estimates that two to six percent of all young people suffer from pathological disorders of attention and motor restlessness. At the wheel, this group is also one of the riskiest road users. However, a computer simulation for young drivers with ADHD can train them not to wander off and to be able to keep their eyes on the road better. There is feedback if your gaze wanders from the road for two seconds or more. Original sound study director Dr. Jeffrey Epstein of the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. “We found that this method significantly reduced long gazes away from the road, both during simulated driving and during real-world driving. We also had eye-tracking cameras installed in teenagers’ cars for a year. We saw a very significant decrease in the number of these stray glances away from the roadway in the children with ADHD.” Within a year of training, crashes and near misses were significantly less common than in a control group. Previous research has shown that teenage drivers with ADHD are twice as likely to be involved in car accidents as neurotypical teens.