Do older drivers at-risk for crashes modify their driving over time?
Five-year driving habit trajectories among older adults (n = 645) at-risk for crashes were examined. Performance measures included Useful Field of View (UFOV). Motor-Free Visual Perception Test, Rapid Walk, and Foot Tap. Self-report measures included demographics and the Driving Habits Questionnaire. Longitudinal random-effects models revealed that drivers at-risk for subsequent crashes, based upon UFOV, regulated their driving more than the lower-risk participants. Restricted driving was present at baseline for the at-risk group and was observed in longitudinal trajectories that controlled for baseline differences. Results indicate that persons at-risk for subsequent crashes increasingly limit their driving over time. Despite this self-regulation, a larger sample of such older drivers was twice as likely to incur subsequent at-fault crashes. Results suggest that self-regulation among older drivers at-risk for crashes is an insufficient compensatory approach to eliminating increased crash risk. UFOV is a registered trademark of Visual Awareness, Inc.
Ross
Lesley A
LA
Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA. LesleyARoss@gmail.com
Clay
Olivio J
OJ
Edwards
Jerri D
JD
Ball
Karlene K
KK
Wadley
Virginia G
VG
Vance
David E
DE
Cissell
Gayla M
GM
Roenker
Daniel L
DL
Joyce
John J
JJ
D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D001076:Aptitude; D001288:Attention; D001333:Automobile Driver Examination / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003071:Cognition; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008396:Maryland; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011594:Psychometrics; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D011930:Reaction Time; D012307:Risk Factors