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• Post-Combat Driving for Soldiers
• Post-Combat Driving for Families

Shifting Gears: Returning to Driving

Driving provides more than a means for community mobility. In most areas of the United States, we rely on cars for work, social connections, worship, Family roles, leisure and a general sense of autonomy and independence. Driving benefits come with some risk. Crashes of personally owned vehicles are the largest cause of accidental deaths among Soldiers (Source: Department of Defense, Motor Vehicle Safety Initiatives, Report to Congress, March 27, 2003).

Many Soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan report challenges as they reintegrate to home front driving. This webpage will serve as a portal to materials addressing driving reintegration and rehabilitation for Soldiers with and without combat injury.

• In 2009, the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCOE) issued clinical recommendations for the driving screening and assessment of Service Members with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). These apply to general healthcare providers and to driving specialists. Go to http://www.dcoe.health.mil/ForHealthPros/TBIInformation.aspx and search for "Driving Following Traumatic Brain Injury - Clinical Recommendations."
• The U.S. Army Combat Readiness/Safety Center offers motorcycle and automobile safety recommendations, traffic accident report forms, and link to TRIPS materials.
• The American Occupational Therapy Association has a driving rehabilitation database to help health care providers and others find local driving specialists.
• The Rehabilitation and Reintegration Division (R2D) offers Soldier and Family brochures to help explain common driving reintegration problems after deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan. These brochures describe how some behaviors may carry over from combat driving and how common home front driving situations can create anxiety. Both brochures offer suggestions for self-management.

R2D is developing other materials on driving reintegration specifically for Soldiers with mild traumatic brain injury and their Families. Please check this site later for these materials. In addition, if you have any special needs for materials related to driving reintegration or rehabilitation materials, please let us know so that we may be able to serve this need. Email your request for additional materials to otsg.prrinquiries@amedd.army.mil.

Driving Simulators

Driving simulators offer a potent tool for screening, assessment, and training of Service Members recovering from a wide variety of injuries. R2D offers this Information Paper to assist decision making prior to the purchase of a commercial driving simulator for clinical use in Military Treatment Facilities (MTF).

• Driving Similuation Selection Criteria Info Paper and Checklist