Road safe seniors: Screening for age-related driving disorders in inpatient and outpatient settings

Older drivers are increasing in number and they often have health conditions that place them at high risk for motor-vehicle crashes (MVC). Screening is underutilized, and is rarely done in hospital settings.

A convenience sample of 755 older adults completed age related driving disorders screening at University of California, San Diego inpatient and outpatient health centers. Screening included three strength/frailty tests, two vision tests (acuity and fields), and two cognitive tests, based on AMA recommendations. The average age of participants was 72.5; 55.5% were male and 94% English-speaking; 17.8% of older adults failed at least one aspect of screening.

In multivariate analysis, significant associations of failed status were age, male sex, selfrestrictions of driving, and inpatient screening locations. The screening identified one in six adults to be 'high-risk' for age related driving disorders. Screening was effective and feasible in both inpatient and outpatient settings.

As the driving population ages, industry, government and health car providers need to plan for the management of driving impairments in older adults.