A ten-year follow-up of driving patterns among community-dwelling elderly

Massachusetts Health Care Panel Study data were used to examine age-related changes in driving patterns over 10 years in a community-dwelling cohort of elders. In 1974, 86% of the men and 76% of the women reported that the automobile was their chief mode of transportation. At each follow-up, 87% or more of those who had relied on a car at the start of the study continued to rely on the automobile as their primary source of transportation. Approximately 75% or more of those who were self-reliant in driving a car at each assessment were still self-reliant at the subsequent follow-up. These prospective data clearly demonstrate that a substantial proportion of the older population in the United States continues to rely on the automobile and to drive in their eighth and ninth decades of life. Declining health status appears to be an important risk factor for losing self-reliance in driving a car in old age.