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Driving? No problem...yet. Well, except for that one little accident, but I only totaled my own car and two others, and the guy I hit was ok. Yeah, I fell suddenly and irretrievably asleep behind the wheel, but it was 2:00 in the afternoon. I was due for a nap. I can't help that I went crashing through a fence and into a parking lot. I remember when there was no mall in that location. I say bring on the old days, when I would've gone crashing into a VFW post instead. Anyway, my auto insurance rates haven't even gone up. And now for the serious side... I was heavily over-medicated. (PD meds only) This was 1.5 years ago. And I was burning the candle at both ends and in the middle too. I was on the way home after dropping off some paperwork that I'd been working on all night. I had had 2 or 3 hrs. of sleep. And I was suffering from depression that had three causes: my PD, my meds, and my reaction to my situation. I told all this to the cops and they didn't arrest me, but I later had to fill out some special forms for DMV, and so did my doctor. And now that the dust has settled, I still have to have my doctor do the DMV form every six months, saying that no, he doesn't think I represent a threat behind the wheel. I understand that if there are no more incidents for three years, I don't have to send the forms any more. I come from a family of good drivers. I drive in all conditions, all times of day, necessarily, because I still play in a band. To me, it all boils down to a couple of things: 1. What would I do if I couldn't drive? 2. I don't want to endanger anyone. I would (unofficially) advise all drivers in our community to please drive very carefully, and stay within conservative boundaries as far as speed, road and traffic conditions, and personal abilities. Now is not the time to push your limits, as I did. You want to make sure that you and everyone else get home safely. Over all, I'd say that there are worse threats than me on the roads, but safety concerns dictate that I stay extra vigilant behind the wheel. Please join me in this. And thanks for reading. Enjoy! Rick McGirr -----Original Message----- From: Parkinson's Information Exchange Network [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of mschild Sent: Tuesday, October 06, 2009 12:42 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Drivers with Parkinson's disease at higher risk of crashes in low visibility ST. PAUL, Minn. – Drivers with mild to moderate Parkinson's disease may be at higher risk of crashes on foggy days and other times of low visibility. The research, involving a driving simulation test, is published in the October 6, 2009, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. In addition to affecting movement, Parkinson's disease affects visual skills, such as the ability to see contrast, and the speed of processing what is seen. The study involved a driving simulation test taken by 67 people with mild to moderate Parkinson's disease and 51 healthy people about the same age. First they drove in good conditions, with clear skies. Then they drove in a foggy, low visibility situation, leading up to an intersection where another vehicle posed a crash risk. More people with Parkinson's disease were unable to avoid the crash—76 percent versus 37 percent. Their reaction time was also longer—2.7 seconds compared to 2.1 seconds. For those who crashed, those with Parkinson's were driving at an average speed of 49 mph at the time of the crash, compared to 39 mph for those who did not have Parkinson's. "Our results suggest that a large proportion of drivers with Parkinson's disease may be at risk for unsafe driving in low visibility situations such as fog or twilight," said study author Ergun Uc, MD, of the University of Iowa in Iowa City and Veterans Affairs Medical Center of Iowa City, who is a member of the American Academy of Neurology. Those with Parkinson's also had more instances where the car's wheels crossed over the center line or the shoulder line than people who did not have Parkinson's, and their performance worsened with the change from good to poor driving conditions. Among those with Parkinson's disease, those who performed the worst on the driving test were those who had the lowest scores on tests of visual processing speed, motion perception, sensitivity to visual contrast and speed of movement. ### The study was supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and the National Institute on Aging. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn