Medically reviewed by Meredith Goodwin, MD, FAAFP — Written by The Healthline Editorial Team — Updated on June 16, 2025
Key takeaways
- Parkinson’s disease can impair driving ability due to its effects on vision, motor function, memory, and spatial awareness, though the degree and timing vary for each individual.
- People with Parkinson’s can remain safe while driving by managing their symptoms, getting regular evaluations, and making certain adjustments to their driving habits.
- Even if driving is no longer an option, individuals with Parkinson’s can maintain independence through alternative transportation and support services.
Parkinson’s disease is a central nervous system disorder that causes certain cells in your brain to decline over time. This can affect your movement, reaction times, memory, and visual-spatial perception. It may also lead to dementia.
All of these challenges can interfere with a person’s ability to drive.
Yet it may take many months or years after diagnosis for Parkinson’s to interfere with activities of daily living, including the ability to drive a vehicle.
It’s important to know when driving will become a concern and what you can do once it’s no longer safe to get behind the wheel.
How does Parkinson’s affect your driving?
There is no one-size-fits-all answer for how long you can drive with Parkinson’s or how your condition is affecting your driving now. Many people can drive long after they first receive a diagnosis, while others will need to stop driving sooner.
It depends on:
- the person
- progression of the disease
- how severe the symptoms are
Some Parkinson’s symptoms that specifically interfere with safe driving may include:
- tremors, or uncontrollable shaking, in the hands and arms
- lack of coordination
- decreased reaction times
- attention deficits
- visual impairment
- muscle stiffness
- daytime sleepiness, often due to nighttime sleeping issues
- drowsiness, dizziness, or blurred vision resulting from Parkinson’s medications
Driving may be riskier than it might seem, because your symptoms may become more or less severe depending on the particular day.
Even the earliest stages of Parkinson’s can affect a person’s driving.
That said, people who aren’t experiencing cognitive impairments (such as vision changes or visuospatial processing issues) might be able to drive for many years.
A 2018 review of studies found that in 50 studies, people with Parkinson’s were 6 times more likely to fail an on-the-road driving test compared with people who did not have the condition. Those with Parkinson’s were also more than 2 1/2 times as likely to crash in a simulated test.
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