The on-road difficulties of older drivers and their relationship with self-reported motor vehicle crashes.

OBJECTIVES

To quantify the driving difficulties of older adults using a detailed assessment of driving performance and to link this with self-reported retrospective and prospective crashes.

DESIGN

Prospective cohort study.

SETTING

On-road driving assessment.

PARTICIPANTS

Two hundred sixty-seven community-living adults aged 70 to 88 randomly recruited through the electoral roll.

MEASUREMENTS

Performance on a standardized measure of driving performance.

RESULTS

Lane positioning, approach, and blind spot monitoring were the most common error types, and errors occurred most frequently in situations involving merging and maneuvering. Drivers reporting more retrospective or prospective crashes made significantly more driving errors. Driver instructor interventions during self-navigation (where the instructor had to brake or take control of the steering to avoid an accident) were significantly associated with higher retrospective and prospective crashes; every instructor intervention almost doubled prospective crash risk.

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that on-road driving assessment provides useful information on older driver difficulties, with the self-directed component providing the most valuable information.