title: Glaucoma and Driving: On-Road Driving Characteristics.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To comprehensively investigate the types of driving errors and locations that are most problematic for older drivers with glaucoma compared to those without glaucoma using a standardized on-road assessment.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants included 75 drivers with glaucoma (mean = 73.2±6.0 years) with mild to moderate field loss (better-eye MD = -1.21 dB; worse-eye MD = -7.75 dB) and 70 age-matched controls without glaucoma (mean = 72.6 ± 5.0 years). On-road driving performance was assessed in a dual-brake vehicle by an occupational therapist using a standardized scoring system which assessed the types of driving errors and the locations where they were made and the number of critical errors that required an instructor intervention. Driving safety was rated on a 10-point scale. Self-reported driving ability and difficulties were recorded using the Driving Habits Questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Drivers with glaucoma were rated as significantly less safe, made more driving errors, and had almost double the rate of critical errors than those without glaucoma. Driving errors involved lane positioning and planning/approach, and were significantly more likely to occur at traffic lights and yield/give-way intersections. There were few between group differences in self-reported driving ability.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Older drivers with glaucoma with even mild to moderate field loss exhibit impairments in driving ability, particularly during complex driving situations that involve tactical problems with lane-position, planning ahead and observation. These results, together with the fact that these drivers self-report their driving to be relatively good, reinforce the need for evidence-based on-road assessments for evaluating driving fitness.
authors.affiliation: School of Optometry and Vision Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
authors.forename: Joanne M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Wood
authors.affiliation: School of Optometry and Vision Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
authors.forename: Alex A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Black
authors.affiliation: School of Optometry and Vision Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
authors.forename: Kerry
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mallon
authors.affiliation: Queensland Eye Institute, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.|University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
authors.forename: Ravi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, United States of America.
authors.forename: Cynthia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Owsley
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001334:Automobile Driving; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005901:Glaucoma / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male