Post-Deployment Driving Problems

Source: PhysOrg.com

Soldiers deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF) travel long distances to transport supplies and execute missions. In an effort to protect their vehicles and convoys during travel, soldiers often use specific driving behaviors to stay safe. For example, they straddle lanes or move off-road to avoid debris or objects at road side; drive erratically and very quickly; and continue through intersections regardless of a traffic signal or blocking vehicle to ensure that convoys are uninterrupted.

For many military personnel, these strategic driving patterns become automatic and associated with a sense of control and safety. But when these soldiers return home to the United States, these driving behaviors may endanger the soldiers, their families and their communities.

The CDMRP has funded a national study among soldiers, both deployed and never deployed. In a pilot survey of 198 Minnesota soldiers (150 who had been deployed and 48 never deployed to OIF/OEF), results showed a high incidence of carryover behaviors and driving-related anxieties among the soldiers who had been deployed. According to the survey, over the course of 30 days, about 25 percent of the deployed group had driven through a stop sign, compared to 5 percent of those who had not served, about 10 percent had driven erratically in a tunnel or an underpass compared to 3 percent , and nearly 25 percent of post-OIF/OEF soldiers had driven in the middle of the road or into oncoming traffic, compared to 8 percent. Driving in general caused anxiety for 20 percent of the post-deployment group, more than 30 percent said they were anxious when passed by other cars, and nearly 50 percent were anxious when other cars approached or "boxed" them in, compared with 0 percent, 8 percent and 25 percent, respectively, for those who had not been deployed.

In the course of 30 days, about 30 percent of post-deployed soldiers had been told they drove dangerously, while less than 10 percent of non-deployed compatriots received that feedback. While post-deployed soldiers' overall driving behaviors declined to that of non-deployed soldiers after 90 days of being back in America, these returning soldiers' driving anxieties remained significantly higher than non-deployed soldiers.

The investigators are eager to compare the results of the broader study to the pilot."The results of that survey will help us understand the national picture," says Principal Investigator Erica Stern, Ph.D., associate professor of occupational therapy at the University of Minnesota. "We can then use that information to develop initiatives to reduce driving behaviors and anxieties for post-deployment soldiers with and without TBI. It will also be useful to families and communities as soldiers are reintegrated at home."