People suffering from dementia should be forbidden to drive

I want to start the debate with greeting my opponent and to wish him (?) good luck. I hope we will have two enjoyable and informative rounds. Overview 1. People suffering from dementia are not fit to drive 1.1 coordination 1.2 memory 1.3 judgment 2. Society needs a law background to have better control 2.1 reduce pressure for relatives 2.2 legalize actions if there are no relatives 1. People suffering from dementia are not fit to drive There are different forms of dementia. Some are caused by stroke (such as the Vascular dementia), some by progressive illness (Alzheimer) [1] but they all tackle the brain and lower the patients physical and mental abilities. In some cases is this getting steadily worse in some cases are the abilities more unstable and sometimes there and sometimes not. The following are examples in what way dementia is causing problems on the road. 1.1 coordination As a driver, fast and precise action can be very important to secure the own life and that of others (in the car and bystanders). Already the ability to fully grab and move the wheel is a central part of driving. With cars that can still smoothly drive at 200km/h (~125mph) the ability to see and react accordingly is this more important than ever and continues to gain importance. Driving fast and then losing the ability to hold the wheel steady is an easy way to kill yourself and cause an accident involving many innocent people and causing major property damage. An Australian survey reported about 100,000 accidents per year to be caused by people suffering from even mild forms of dementia [2] 1.2 memory I am going to keep that short. You need know the rules on the street. Not only in the Manhattan Ghettos but also when you are driving a car. Who goes first, how fast can you go in cities, where are you allowed to park your vehicle? And you should not stand at crossroad and have to remember which way you are allowed to drive, because that’s how you promote accidents. The one thing road safety relies on is that everyone has a good overview over what goes what goes not and although you have to be aware of your fellow drivers you need to be able to rely on their ability to certain degree. 1.3 judgment Many forms of dementia also result in aggression and a lacking ability to judge situations [3]. If the patient is unable to understand what is going on he/she might decide very wrongly to pull out of a corner while someone is heading over from a difficult angle or just plain misjudge speed entirely. There is no doubt that progressed stages are a serious thread on the roads [3] and I am personally going so far to underline that even in early stages (or especially there) the moments when abilities are missing or fading are more unpredictable and less foreseeable making it difficult for the caretakers and the patients to judge “today’s abilities” of the patient, making it even more important to have not only a personal judge but legal background. 1.4 no sufficient cure Stem cell research does its best. However do we not yet have a cure that can defeat or effectively prevent dementia, nor do we have medicaments that can give back the physical and mental abilities sufficiently. Drugs like Donepezil (Aricept®), rivastigmine (Exelon®) or galantamine (Razadyne®) can help to bring back some but neither can we make sure that one only operates the vehicle after taking the drugs, because police men are not equipped to test it, nor can we ensure that the drugs work effectively in the specific patient. Especially as they usually are a short term solution and not a long term answer [4] 2. Society needs a law background to have better control One might say that once you are demented, you don’t care if you are not allowed to do something, because you can’t remember it anyway. Which is true. In late stages demented patients might not be able to understand the concept of being “forbidden”. But we still need the law to make this clear. Not for the patients but for those who take care of them. 2.1 reduce pressure for relatives If you are taking care of a person diagnosed with dementia, you face the difficult responsibility to decide with them whether they should drive or not. Making you directly or indirectly part of the results. Allowing a patient in the later stages of Alzheimer to drive is plain irresponsible and immoral, while even those who supervise mild stages might feel subjectively responsible if an accident happens under their watch. If the law clearly states that they have to take the drivers license away and install certain security against the use of the car by the demented person, relatives and caretakers don’t have to question their actions, because they know they are either just or unjust. 2.2 legalize actions if there are no relatives In some cases, where there are no relatives or proper caretakers (because the mild stage patient might see no need for it himself) this law would enable the government to take actions if accident happens. With a legal background assigning a caretaker or supervisor is much easier. This means that the government gets an increased ability to protect its citizens from themselves and to ensure road safety. Sources [1] http://alzheimers.org.uk... [2] http://www.abc.net.au... [3] http://www.nia.nih.gov... [4] http://www.nia.nih.gov...