Performance of persons with juvenile-onset amputation in driving motor vehicles.

Abstract

To study the driving of motor vehicles by persons with juvenile-onset amputation and to compare the percentage of drivers among them with that found in the general population. A follow-up study of subjects who were younger than 18 years of age at amputation and who underwent one-sided amputation, covering the period 1976 to 1996. The Prosthesis Service of the Asturias Central Hospital, Spain. A total of 236 juvenile amputee patients. The percentage of women with amputations who drive is lower than that of their male counterparts (p<.05). The percentage of drivers with upper limb amputations is greater than that of drivers with amputation of the lower limb (p<.05). Motor vehicle adaptations were used more frequently by people with upper limb amputations (p<.05). The ability to drive was not affected by the etiology or the side of amputation, or by the use of a prosthesis. The level of amputation affected driving ability in cases of amputation of the lower limb, but not in those of amputation of the upper limb. The percentage of persons with juvenile-onset amputation who drive (47.4%) is similar to that found in the general population (40.8%), and the use of a prosthesis does not have any influence on the capacity to drive a car--89.2% of drivers and 93.5% of nondrivers used a prosthesis.