Methadone substitution and ability to drive. Results of an experimental study

The aim of our experimental study was to gain informations and data on the driving ability of patients undergoing a methadone substitution programme a s well as to explore the influence of an HIV infection. 28 patients, five o f them HIV-positive, were compared to a control group equal in age, sex and education. For the traffic relevant tests the methadone patients showed si gnificantly reduced performance. Six of the methadone patients passed the t ests in a way regarded to have sufficient driving skills. We were unable to prove an influence of HIV infection on driving skills when lacking relevan t somatic and neuropsychiatric symptoms. There was no significant correlati on between the test results and patients age or dose of medication. We conc lude that in general methadone substitution does not implicate driving inab ility although the majority of our patients showed some reduction of their psychomotoric skills.