How ADHD affects driving safety
I love working with individuals with ADHD. The unique characteristics of a person with ADHD create a personality rich in individuality, novelty, and passion. However, the ADHD brain also presents a lot of unique difficulties that can have severe negative consequences.
I recently found a blog post from shamiehlaw.com that explored how ADHD in teens and adults affects driving risks. I wanted to highlight a few main points. If you find this article helpful, please read their full blog post here.
Increased driving risk
I commute along I-85 between Anderson and Greenville every single day. Some days, the drive is smooth and easy. Other days, it is stop-and-go traffic. Too often, I pass a car accident, or have to avoid a reckless driver, just to get to the office.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder has been shown to affect attention, focus, and executive functioning. The blog post referenced two articles that highlighted that people with ADHD often take risks, make poor judgment calls, and I know both from personal experience and from working with dozens of people with ADHD; we love speed!
The ADHD and Driving article from Shamieh Law showed that these risks do not necessarily change with age. Teens are already more likely to get into crashes, as our executive functioning does not develop till our mid-twenties, with people with ADHD generally experiencing a 2-year delay in development compared to peers. Some struggles remain lifelong, as the article shared that adults with ADHD aged 65-79 were twice as likely to get into a car accident!
Helpful Tips
While the safety considerations for ADHD are real, Shamieh Law also offered a few really good suggestions! Those include:
Limit Distractions
Drive Smart
Take Advantage of Built-in Safety Features
Support from Loved Ones
This only scratches the surface of a well-written, well-researched article from Shamieh Law. So if you want to drive safer in Greenville and something in my post caught your attention, then go read the full article here.
Drive safe!
