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

Objective: 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. Design: 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. Setting: The Prosthesis Service of the Asturias Central Hospital, Spain. Subjects: A total of 236 juvenile amputee patients. Results: 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. Conclusion: 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.