Candrive-Development of a Risk Stratification Tool for Older Drivers

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Transportation Safety
• Clinical Decision Support

Background:

• Assessing older adult fitness-to-drive is crucial for clinical decision-making.
• Existing risk prediction tools lack nuance for complex medical conditions or temporal changes.
• There is a need for a tool to stratify driving risk in older adults.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an older driver risk stratification tool (RST) for screening medical fitness-to-drive.
• To provide a more nuanced assessment than dichotomous risk tools.
• To aid healthcare providers in evaluating driving capabilities.

Main Methods:

• Recruited 928 active drivers aged 70+ across 7 Canadian sites.
• Collected in-person assessments (physical, cognitive, health) and GPS vehicle data.
• Validated at-fault collisions against annual kilometers driven.

Main Results:

• The Candrive RST identified 4 key predictors of driving risk.
• 74.8% of driving person-years were in the lowest risk category.
• The highest risk category showed a 5.26-fold increased relative risk for at-fault collisions.

Conclusions:

• The Candrive RST aids primary care providers in discussing driving safety with older adults.
• It helps guide further medical evaluations for fitness-to-drive.
• The tool addresses the need for nuanced risk assessment in this population.