Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Oct;32(7):902-12.
doi: 10.1177/0733464812441502.

Aging without driving: evidence from the Health And Retirement Study, 1993 to 2008

Moon Choi  1 , Briana Mezuk  1
Affiliations

Aging without driving: evidence from the Health And Retirement Study, 1993 to 2008

Moon Choi et al. J Appl Gerontol. 2013 Oct.

Abstract

This study characterized older adults who do not drive (former and never drivers) and examined how this group of elders has changed over the past 15 years. Sample included community-living adults aged 70-85 who do not drive from the 1993 Asset and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old Study (N = 1,979) and 2008 Health and Retirement Study (N = 1,119). Chi-square and t-tests were used to assess differences between never and former drivers and between cohorts. Logistic regression was used to examine the predictors of having never driven. The driving status among older adults has improved over the past 15 years as the proportion of never drivers declined from 11% to 2%. However, non-driving has become more concentrated among ethnic minority women, and the gaps in education and net worth between former and never drivers widened over the 15 years.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no financial support for research, consultantships, speakers’ forums, or other holdings that might be in conflict of interest with respect to this study.

References

    1. Ackerman ML, Edwards JD, Ross LA, Ball K, Lunsman M. Examination of cognitive and instrumental functional performance as indicators for driving cessation risk across 3 years. The Gerontologist. 2008;48(6):802–810. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Arcury TA, Gesler WM, Preisser JS, Sherman J, Spencer J, Perin J. The effects of geography and spatial behavior on health care utilization among the residents of a rural region. Health Services Research. 2005;40(1):135–156. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ball K, Rebok G. Evaluating the driving ability of older adults. Journal of Applied Gerontology. 1994;13(1):20.
    1. Choi M, Adams KB, Mezuk B. Examining the aging process through the stress-coping framework: Application to driving cessation in later life. Aging & Mental Health. 2011 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Edwards JD, Lunsman M, Perkins M, Rebok GW, Roth DL. Driving cessation and health trajectories in older adults. Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences. 2009;64(12):1290–1295. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types