If the patient chooses to continue driving, the risk of accidents could be decreased by always having a copilot, restricting driving to familiar areas and avoiding night driving. Further, the family should understand that the patient s ability to drive may deteriorate over time and that they should continue to monitor this. Patients who are warned by their physicians that they are at increased risk of hurting themselves or others on the road often give up driving voluntarily. Patients who do not should be urged to contact their local department of motor vehicles to be tested to prove they can drive safely. If an unsafe driver refuses to give up driving, the physician or family may report him or her to the state driving authorities.
Requirements vary from state to state.
Its prevalence in the general population ranges from 5 to 15 percent. Levodopa and similar agents don't appear to have long-term complications. However, clinicians have begun to encounter an increasing number of patients in whom previous treatments have failed. Many of these patients have been treated with high doses of benzodiazepines, opiates and dopaminergic agents without relief of their symptoms. Symptoms of RLS include unpleasant creeping sensations deep in the calves and an irresistible urge to move the legs.