A multidomain approach for predicting older driver safety under in-traffic road conditions

Abstract

Objectives: To identify a battery of tests that predicts safe and unsafe performance on an on-road assessment of driving.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Setting: University laboratory assessment and an on-road driving test.

Participants: Two hundred seventy community-living adults aged 70 to 88 recruited through the electoral roll.

Measurements: Performance on a battery of multidisciplinary tests and on a standardized measure of on-road driving performance.

Results: A combination of three tests from the vision, cognitive, and motor domains, including motion sensitivity, color choice reaction time, postural sway on a compliant foam rubber surface, and a self-reported measure of driving exposure, was able to classify participants into safe and unsafe driver groups with sensitivity of 91% and specificity of 70%.

Conclusion: In a sample of licensed older drivers, a short battery of tests and a self-reported measure of driving exposure were able to accurately predict driving safety.