Why is cognitive health important for drivers? Know how brain works during driving

Road accidents account for the majority of the accidental deaths in India. As per the 'Road Accidents in India 2020' report a total of 3,66,138 incidents of road accidents occurred in the country due to which 1,31,714 lives were lost and 3,48,279 people were injured.

In view of this, it is important to know about driving safety.

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Have you thought about cognitive health and driving? Given that driving is an important life saving skill, we should factor in brain health when talking about this.

Driving needs concentration, memory and presence of mind and these aspects of the brain are severely hit when cognitive health declines.

"Safe driving requires the ability to concentrate, to divide attention between multiple sensory events across visual and auditory modalities, and to make fast cognitive decisions in a complex and rapidly changing environment," as per a research study.

Four lobes--occipital, temporal, parietal, and frontal--work together when one is driving.

The occipital and temporal lobes process the images coming in through the eyes and help you recognise if the vehicle is a car or a bicycle.

The occipital and parietal lobes estimate the speed of the vehicles. It gives you the ability to make a rough calculation on where the vehicle will be in the next few seconds.

The parietal lobes and the temporal lobes keep you alert to the horns. It also keeps you aware of the dangers on the road.

Frontal lobes regulate your speed ability and other navigation aspects as well.

Most of the driving that we do on a daily basis is mostly autonomous in nature. For example while driving to the office we automatically navigate through the streets and lanes because our cognitive abilities guide us in an unconscious manner.

However, when the memory deteriorates the person finds it difficult to locate daily navigating places. Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia impair a person’s ability to remember common things.

An old research study had found that people with Alzheimer’s had an average of 0.09 car crashes per year. The study published in the journal Neurology found that those with Alzheimer's disease who drive present a slightly increased risk for crashes compared with drivers of all ages.

As per the official data released by the government, distracted driving is one of the top reasons for road accidents in the country.

"Distracted driving is especially dangerous because, unlike cases of drunk driving which usually occur at night, automobile accidents caused by distracted drivers can occur at any time of the day," the report says and adds that teens and young adults tend to engage in cell phone tasks much more frequently, in riskier situations than adults and therefore are more likely to indulge in distracted driving.

A distracted driver is a motorist who diverts his or her attention from the road, usually to talk on a cell phone, talk to the passengers, send a text message or eat food or even applying makeup, it defines such people.

It is difficult to spot the signs of dementia in an individual. The deteriorating mental health does not show up immediately and by the time it is visible it is already too late.

If someone in your family who is a regular driver develops dementia there are several ways you can notice it from their driving skills:

Check for dents; these can be occurring regularly

Speeding above the limit or sometimes going at a very low speed

Suddenly changing the lanes

Getting confused between the brake and gas pedals

Frequently getting penalty tickets from traffic police

Taking more time than before for regular jobs

Getting into accidents more often

Faults from drivers like not using safety helmets, seat belts, triple riding, negligent parking, randomly crossing roads, suddenly changing lanes, road rage, overcrowding of vehicles and not using proper headlights cause loss to life in road accidents.