Medication May Improve Driving Skills in ADHD Adults

Researchers from the Netherlands have found that medication in adults with ADHD leads to better driving ability.

A recent study by Joris Verster of Utrecht University in the Netherlands has suggested that the medication methylphenidate improves driving skills and safety in adults with ADHD.

While it has previously been suggested that the behaviors associated with ADHD that methylphenidate treats, such as inattention, can lead to more dangerous driving, there have been few studies on the subject. Further, most of the studies that have been done have used driving simulators, rather than actual road conditions.

Verster had 18 people with ADHD drive 100 km in average traffic conditions. He asked the participants to drive "as safely as possible at a steady speed and fixed position on the road." When taking medication, participants showed less weaving behavior than when not on medication, suggesting that methylphenidate improves driving ability.

The study will be published in the May 2008 issue of the Journal of Psychopharmacology.