A multidomain approach for predicting older driver safety under in-traffic road conditions.
OBJECTIVE
To identify a battery of tests that predicts safe and unsafe performance on an on-road assessment of driving.


METHODS
Prospective cohort study.


METHODS
University laboratory assessment and an on-road driving test.


METHODS
Two hundred seventy community-living adults aged 70 to 88 recruited through the electoral roll.


METHODS
Performance on a battery of multidisciplinary tests and on a standardized measure of on-road driving performance.


RESULTS
A combination of three tests from the vision, cognitive, and motor domains, including motion sensitivity, color choice reaction time, postural sway on a compliant foam rubber surface, and a self-reported measure of driving exposure, was able to classify participants into safe and unsafe driver groups with sensitivity of 91% and specificity of 70%.


CONCLUSIONS
In a sample of licensed older drivers, a short battery of tests and a self-reported measure of driving exposure were able to accurately predict driving safety.
Wood
Joanne M
JM
School of Optometry and Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. j.wood@qut.edu.au
Anstey
Kaarin J
KJ
Kerr
Graham K
GK
Lacherez
Philippe F
PF
Lord
Stephen
S
D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001334:Automobile Driving; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008004:Licensure; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D011793:Queensland; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014787:Vision Tests