Driving with neuropathy isn't impossible. Take advice from our experts on how to drive safely when you have neuropathy. Drivers with diabetic peripheral neuropathy drive at slower speeds and are at greater risk of losing control of the vehicle compared to adults without peripheral nerve dysfunction; however, these drivers may improve with practice, according to the results of a study conducted in the United Kingdom. Driving depends on the body's ability to react to the environment.
While many people with multiple sclerosis (MS) drive safely for several years after diagnosis, neuropathy (numbness or tingling) caused by multiple sclerosis can make it difficult to drive when it affects a person's feet or legs. While it's possible to drive with numbness, it's not always a good idea. In addition, other symptoms, such as spasticity (muscle weakness) and vision problems, can make driving more difficult and less safe. Peripheral neuropathy can affect the nerves that indicate the position of the hands or feet, that allow you to feel heat or cold, or that they sense pain.
You may feel tingling or numbness in certain areas of your body, usually in your hands and feet. These sensations can range from mild to painful and are almost always more intense during the night. Speed increased in all groups in the second test, but patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy continued to record the slowest speed (18.55 miles per hour) compared to diabetics (21.56 miles per hour) and those without diabetes (24.06 miles per hour, P =. However, the time spent in cases of “loss of control” was reduced to 13.83 seconds during the second trip for drivers with diabetic peripheral neuropathy, which was significantly lower than that of drivers without diabetes (P =).This can cause a symptom called peripheral neuropathy: numbness or weakness in the hands and feet.
Perazzolo and colleagues evaluated ankle and foot strength, as well as driving performance, in a cohort of 32 licensed drivers in the United Kingdom: 11 had diabetic peripheral neuropathy (average age, 67 years; 18.2% women), 10 only diabetes (average age, 62 years; 10% women) and 11 had no diabetes (average age 60 years; 18.2% women).
