Age-based testing for driver's license renewal: potential implications for older Australians.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the effect of age-based testing (ABT) for driver's license renewal policies on older Australians.

DESIGN

Secondary data analysis of a pooled dataset.

SETTING

Community-based samples drawn from three Australian states.

PARTICIPANTS

Five thousand two hundred six adults aged 65 to 103 from the Dynamic Analyses to Optimise Ageing (DYNOPTA) project.

MEASUREMENTS

Self-reported driving status, age-based testing (ABT) for driver's license renewal status, demographics, medical conditions, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and visual acuity.

RESULTS

After accounting for significant demographic and health covariates, logistic regression analyses revealed that older adults required to undergo ABT were between 2.2 (95% confidence interval (CI)=1.35-3.57, P=.001) and 1.5 (95% CI=1.18-1.92, P=.001) times as likely to report not driving. Similar proportions of drivers with cognitive or visual impairments were found regardless of ABT status.

CONCLUSION

Required ABT for license renewal was associated with lower rates of driving. The proportion of drivers with probable cognitive or visual impairments was similar in those who had ABT and those who did not. Future investigation of the effect of current ABT policies on crash rates and the potential to use other scientifically designed ABT strategies is therefore needed.