Performance‐Based Measurements Among Elderly Drivers and Nondrivers

Abstract

Although driving is an important ability for maintaining independence in the later years, clinical factors that determine driving status are unknown. Aged male veterans (mean age, 70 years) were recruited from an outpatient clinic (N = 143), including 77 frequent drivers, 41 infrequent drivers, and 25 who drove rarely or not at all. There were 116 (84%) who completed a comprehensive performance-based assessment. There were no significant differences between the three groups in age, formal cognitive testing, or prevalence of stroke history. However, there were significant differences in grip strength, reaction time, static visual acuity, dynamic visual acuity, and peripheral vision. Using stepwise ordinal logistic regression, dynamic visual acuity, nondominant hand grip strength, and total horizontal peripheral visual field were significantly associated with driving frequency (P less than .05), and together explained approximately 45% of the variance. Subtle motor and visual deficits that can be detected by a performance-based assessment may play an important role in determining driving frequency in the elderly.

Effect of Knee Brace Type on Braking Response Time During Automobile Driving

“…5,6,21 Reaction time is considered a complex task. [22][23][24] It includes various psychomotor processes and is defined as the amount of time an individual takes to respond and complete a movement after a stimulus has been presented. [22][23][24] In our study brake reaction time was defined as the amount of time it took for the participant to move his or her right foot from the accelerator to the brake pedal after the red light appeared on the driving simulator and did not distinguish among thinking time, movement time, and brake travel time as in the study by Waton et al 6 Our study is novel in that it is the first to test BRT in subjects wearing a broad range of common knee brace types.…”

Acceptability and validity of older driver screening with the DrivingHealth® Inventory

“…Historically, the reason for this lack of success has been that few measures have adequately captured the individual characteristics that underlie differences in driving performance. Over the past decade, however, research has pinpointed several factors that reliably predict decrements in driving performance and increased risk for crash among older drivers (e.g., Ball et al, 2006;Bouillon et al, 2006;De Raedt and PonjaertKristoffersen, 2001;Freund et al, 2005b;Hu et al, 1998;Marottoli et al, 1994Mazer et al, 1998;McKnight and McKnight, 1999;Retchin et al, 1988;Staplin et al, 2002Staplin et al, , 2003Szlyk et al, 1993;Tarawneh et al, 1993). The DHI is a technological screening battery that examines relevant factors, including visual, physical, and cognitive performance.…”

“…This technological screening battery was developed to identify at-risk older drivers based upon assessments found to be effective in prior research (Ball et al, 2006;Hu et al, 1998;Marottoli et al, 1994Mazer et al, 1998;McKnight and McKnight, 1999;Retchin et al, 1988;Staplin et al, 2002Staplin et al, , 2003Szlyk et al, 1993;Tarawneh et al, 1993). The program includes measures of visual acuity (high/low contrast), leg strength and general mobility, head/neck flexibility, memory, visualization of missing information, visual information processing speed, and divided visual search (Trails B).…”

“…Substantial research has been conducted with the goal of translating knowledge about the functional abilities required for safe driving into screening measures (i.e., Ball et al, 2006;Hu et al, 1998;Marottoli et al, 1994Mazer et al, 1998;McKnight and McKnight, 1999;Retchin et al, 1988;Staplin et al, 2002Staplin et al, , 2003Szlyk et al, 1993;Tarawneh et al, 1993). The DHI was developed based upon the results of these studies.…”

Longitudinal Assessment of Older Drivers in a DMV Setting

“…To pass, each arm must be raised so that the elbow is above shoulder height. This task assesses upper limb mobility (Hu, et al, 1998;Retchin, et al, 1988).…”