Owsley Cynthia, McGwin Gerald, Antin Jonathan F, Wood Joanne M, Elgin Jennifer
Department of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35294-0009, USA.
Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35294-0022, USA.
BMC Ophthalmol. 2018 Feb 7;18(1):32. doi: 10.1186/s12886-018-0686-5.
Older drivers aged ≥70 years old have among the highest rates of motor vehicle collisions (MVC) compared to other age groups. Driving is a highly visual task, and older adults have a high prevalence of vision impairment compared to other ages. Most studies addressing visual risk factors for MVCs by older drivers utilize vehicle accident reports as the primary outcome, an approach with several methodological limitations. Naturalistic driving research methods overcome these challenges and involve installing a high-tech, unobtrusive data acquisition system (DAS) in an older driver's own vehicle. The DAS continuously records multi-channel video of driver and roadway, sensor-based kinematics, GPS location, and presence of nearby objects in front of the vehicle, providing an objective measure of driving exposure. In this naturalistic driving study, the purpose is to examine the relationship between vision and crashes and near-crashes, lane-keeping, turning at intersections, driving performance during secondary tasks demands, and the role of front-seat passengers. An additional aim is to compare results of the on-road driving evaluation by a certified driving rehabilitation specialist to objective indicators of driving performance derived from the naturalistic data.
Drivers ≥70 years old are recruited from ophthalmology clinics and a previous population-based study of older drivers, with the goal of recruiting persons with wide ranging visual function. Target samples size is 195 drivers. At a baseline visit, the DAS is installed in the participant's vehicle and a battery of health and functional assessments are administered to the driver including visual-sensory and visual-cognitive tests. The DAS remains installed in the vehicle for six months while the participant goes about his/her normal driving with no imposed study restrictions. After six months, the driver returns for DAS de-installation, repeat vision testing, and an on-road driving evaluation by a certified driving rehabilitation specialist (CDRS). The data streams recorded by the DAS are uploaded to the data coordinating center for analysis.
The Alabama VIP Older Driver Study is the first naturalistic older driver study specifically focused on the enrollment of drivers with vision impairment in order to study the relationship between visual dysfunction and driver safety and performance.
与其他年龄组相比，70岁及以上的老年驾驶员机动车碰撞（MVC）率最高。驾驶是一项高度依赖视觉的任务，与其他年龄段相比，老年人视力障碍的患病率较高。大多数针对老年驾驶员MVC视觉风险因素的研究将车辆事故报告作为主要结果，这种方法存在一些方法学上的局限性。自然驾驶研究方法克服了这些挑战，包括在老年驾驶员自己的车辆中安装高科技、不引人注意的数据采集系统（DAS）。DAS持续记录驾驶员和道路的多通道视频、基于传感器的运动学、GPS位置以及车辆前方附近物体的存在情况，提供驾驶暴露的客观测量。在这项自然驾驶研究中，目的是检查视力与碰撞和险些碰撞、车道保持、在十字路口转弯、次要任务需求期间的驾驶性能以及前排乘客的作用之间的关系。另一个目标是将认证驾驶康复专家进行的道路驾驶评估结果与从自然驾驶数据得出的驾驶性能客观指标进行比较。
从眼科诊所和之前一项基于人群的老年驾驶员研究中招募70岁及以上的驾驶员，目标是招募具有广泛视觉功能的人员。目标样本量为195名驾驶员。在基线访视时，将DAS安装在参与者的车辆中，并对驾驶员进行一系列健康和功能评估，包括视觉感觉和视觉认知测试。在参与者正常驾驶且没有强加研究限制的情况下，DAS在车辆中安装六个月。六个月后，驾驶员返回进行DAS拆除、重复视力测试以及由认证驾驶康复专家（CDRS）进行的道路驾驶评估。DAS记录的数据流上传到数据协调中心进行分析。
阿拉巴马州VIP老年驾驶员研究是第一项专门针对视力障碍驾驶员招募的自然老年驾驶员研究，旨在研究视觉功能障碍与驾驶员安全和性能之间的关系。
