The Neurocognitive Driving Test: Applying Technology to the Assessment of Driving Ability Following Brain Injury

Objective: To compare the Neurocognitive Driving Test (NDT) with an established driving assessment method. Study Design: A prospective matched-control study. Participants: Fifteen adult volunteers with acquired brain injury (ABI), aged 21–59 years, referred for a driving evaluation and 15 healthy control (HC) participants. Methods: Individuals with ABI were administered the NDT and a traditional hospital-based driving evaluation. An overall performance score was calculated and used to rank order driving ability. HCs were administered the NDT to establish NDT performance range. Main Outcome Measures: Overall performance on the NDT; overall performance on a comprehensive hospital-based evaluation. Results: Comparison of the rank orders of driving ability for participants with ABI revealed a significant Spearman correlation. NDT scores discriminated between individuals with ABI who passed the driving evaluation and those who failed. Conclusions: Results help establish the potential utility of the NDT for evaluating driving ability in persons with ABI.