http://www.nhtsa.gov/staticfiles/nti/pdf/811630.pdf
This project was conducted to provide an objective measure of the relationship between older adults’ scores on a set of driving assessment tools and their (serious point) violations and crashes over a period of 18 months following the assessments. An additional objective was to compare alternative methods of measuring driver exposure. The assessments were performed on 692 participants age 70 and older who visited one of four Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) field offices between September 2008 and June 2009, under NHTSA contract DTNH22-05-D-05043, Task Order 10. The assessments emphasized cognitive performance domains, specifically visuospatial ability, speed of (visual information) processing, divided attention, visual search, working memory, and response planning or “executive function.” Contrast sensitivity was also measured, as well as simple and choice brake reaction time. The functional assessments examined in this research were computer-based and designed to be self-administered, although the assistance of a test administrator was always available and was required for some measures. Univariate and multivariate analyses examined the relationships between functional assessment scores and safety indicators. The measure of “executive function” (maze performance) was highlighted as a significant predictor of crash risk in the study results. This may be of interest to occupational therapy/driving rehabilitation providers as a potentially valuable tool to support clinical evaluations of fitness to drive; and, to developers of screening tools for early warning of driving impairments, and of products meant to educate older drivers and their families about age-related changes that impact safe driving.
