The Mentally Ill as Motor Vehicle Operators
ALFRED CRANCER JR. M.A.1, and
DENNIS L. QUIRING B.A.2
1 Chief research associate, Division of research, Washington State Department of Motor Vehicles, Olympia, Wash. 98501
2 Research associate, Division of research, Washington State Department of Motor Vehicles, Olympia, Wash. 98501
Driving records of 271 people hospitalized for schizophrenic, psychoneurotic, and personality disorders were compared with those of 687,228 people in the same general driving environment. Patients with personality and psychoneurotic disorders had higher rates than the control population for accidents and injury accidents; those with schizophrenic disorders, similar rates. The study group had more traffic violations, as well as different violation distributions, than the control population. Patients with psychoneurotic and personality disorders had similar distributions of violations, while the schizophrenic group showed a different pattern.
