Patients with psychiatric disorders often need to drive cars. However, because of the frequent reports of traffic accidents related to diseases or medicines, social pressure is high to restrict automobile driving by psychiatric patients. There was a case of a diabetic patient who was sentenced to imprisonment based on the reasoning that any one who has had a hypoglycemic episode must avoid driving (Sapporo district court, 26/2/2014).
 Of course, we know that the risk of accidents during driving can be effectively regulated by prescribing proper medications such as anti-epileptics. However, regrettably, almost all medications that we use in psychiatric medicine are prohibited when patients drive, and physicians are obliged to tell their patients to avoid driving.
 Based on the Supreme Court's ruling on January 23, 1996, the validity of package inserts as a legal norm is strong. No matter how implicit it is, the allowance of driving may be regarded as an illegal action (Civil Code #709) or nonfulfillment of obligation (Civil Code #415), if patients actually drive automobiles (the Kobe District Court's ruling on June 21, 2002). Furthermore, if such patients cause traffic accidents involving third persons, their physicians may also be liable not only for an illegal action (Civil Code #709) against the victims, but also for aiding and abetting in dangerous driving leading to death or injury; this is a recently defined crime, for which legal penalties are enforced, similarly to the case of providing alcohol beverages to drivers. In short, in addition to being corporate manslaughter(Penal Code #211) causing traffic accidents, dangerous driving leading to death or injury is also a crime committed by a basic offender with scienter, for which aggravated penalties are enforced due to its consequences worse than expected.
 In this situation, psychiatric physicians should make continuous efforts to guide governmental administration to be more scientific with the help of other physicians and the pharmaceutical industry.
 <Author's abstract>