<!--endclickprintexclude-->By Judy Fortin
CNN Medical Correspondent
It was hard to miss the bright yellow Student Driver bumper sticker on the back of the car driven by Tosha Mulligan.
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Tosha Mullgian, 19, has attention deficit disorder. She says her mind wanders when she drives.<!--===========/CAPTION=========-->
<!--endclickprintexclude-->Getting a driver's license is a rite of passage for many teenagers, but the process was a bit more challenging for 19-year-old Mulligan of Acworth, Georgia. She has attention deficit disorder.
When she gets behind the wheel, she said, "Sometimes my mind wanders off."
She's not alone. Researchers reported driving can be a serious problem for teens with ADD and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Motor vehicle accidents already are the leading cause of death among teenagers in the U.S., according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Experts such as Russell Barkley say ADD and ADHD compound the problem.
Barkley, a psychiatry professor at the Medical University of South Carolina, is a widely recognized expert on ADD and driving. He has investigated the topic for 15 years and conducted a half-dozen studies, some of which have been published in peer-reviewed journals.
Teen drivers with ADD or ADHD "are impulsive, highly distractible and clumsy, can't pay attention to the roadway and they get bored easily," he said.
Health Minute: More on teens driving with ADD/ADHD »
Mulligan's driving instructor, Jerry Thielemann of Freedom and Mobility Driver Training and Evaluation in Marietta, Georgia, experienced that firsthand. He works with teenagers with ADD three to four times a week.
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Health Minute
<!--endclickprintexclude-->"A person with ADD pays attention to someone walking down the street rather than a car coming toward them," Mulligan said. "They don't know what to focus on."
Barkley sees speeding as a key problem. "In general, people with ADHD speed four times more often than those without ADHD," he said.
His research shows that those with ADD or ADHD are two to three times more likely to have an auto accident, three times more likely in the first five to eight years of driving to have their licenses revoked and five times more likely to get a parking ticket.
In all three instances, Barkley pointed to the impatient and impulsive nature that is common among people with ADD or ADHD.
Chris Zeigler Dendy, author of "Teenagers with ADD and ADHD," raised a son and a stepson with the condition.
"We were worried sick about our kids when they started driving because both had ADHD," Dendy recalled. "They both started getting speeding tickets and having car wrecks. One of them even had his license suspended."
That was nearly 20 years ago. Today, Dendy said, she understands what was behind their troubles.
CNN Medical Correspondent
It was hard to miss the bright yellow Student Driver bumper sticker on the back of the car driven by Tosha Mulligan.
<!--startclickprintexclude--><!----><!--===========IMAGE============-->
Tosha Mullgian, 19, has attention deficit disorder. She says her mind wanders when she drives.<!--===========/CAPTION=========-->
<!--endclickprintexclude-->Getting a driver's license is a rite of passage for many teenagers, but the process was a bit more challenging for 19-year-old Mulligan of Acworth, Georgia. She has attention deficit disorder.
When she gets behind the wheel, she said, "Sometimes my mind wanders off."
She's not alone. Researchers reported driving can be a serious problem for teens with ADD and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Motor vehicle accidents already are the leading cause of death among teenagers in the U.S., according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Experts such as Russell Barkley say ADD and ADHD compound the problem.
Barkley, a psychiatry professor at the Medical University of South Carolina, is a widely recognized expert on ADD and driving. He has investigated the topic for 15 years and conducted a half-dozen studies, some of which have been published in peer-reviewed journals.
Teen drivers with ADD or ADHD "are impulsive, highly distractible and clumsy, can't pay attention to the roadway and they get bored easily," he said.
Mulligan's driving instructor, Jerry Thielemann of Freedom and Mobility Driver Training and Evaluation in Marietta, Georgia, experienced that firsthand. He works with teenagers with ADD three to four times a week.
<!--startclickprintexclude--><!-- KEEP -->
Health Minute
<!--endclickprintexclude-->"A person with ADD pays attention to someone walking down the street rather than a car coming toward them," Mulligan said. "They don't know what to focus on."
Barkley sees speeding as a key problem. "In general, people with ADHD speed four times more often than those without ADHD," he said.
His research shows that those with ADD or ADHD are two to three times more likely to have an auto accident, three times more likely in the first five to eight years of driving to have their licenses revoked and five times more likely to get a parking ticket.
In all three instances, Barkley pointed to the impatient and impulsive nature that is common among people with ADD or ADHD.
Chris Zeigler Dendy, author of "Teenagers with ADD and ADHD," raised a son and a stepson with the condition.
"We were worried sick about our kids when they started driving because both had ADHD," Dendy recalled. "They both started getting speeding tickets and having car wrecks. One of them even had his license suspended."
That was nearly 20 years ago. Today, Dendy said, she understands what was behind their troubles.
