Inattention and Misjudgment in Older Drivers Involved in Automobile Collisions in Hawai'I, 1986–1991

Abstract

Motor vehicle collision reports filed by police officers may be useful in investigating driver behavior and identifying potential causal attributes of accident involvement. Inattention and misjudgment were two options appearing on police reports to explain the cause of motor vehicle collisions in Hawai'i from 1986 to 1991. Examination of all crash reports (n = 218,718) revealed that inattention and misjudgment are serious problems for older drivers (65 years and older, n = 14,179). For instance, for the 75 to 84 year old drivers involved in collisions (n = 3659), 36% were classified as inattentive and 22% were identified as having misjudgment errors in driving; for the 85 and older drivers (n = 340), these percentages were 41 and 22, respectively. Of the collisions involving older drivers, 48% were at intersections. Reports of inattention and misjudgments were highest at dusk and dawn compared to other times of the day and night. Among the rear-end collisions, 65% of the older rear-enders were inattentive drivers. Strong associations of inattentive older drivers were found with being a broadsider (49%), side-swiper (45%) and headoner. Misjudgments among older drivers were most associated with being a side-swiper (41% from the opposite direction and 37% from the same direction). Regarding vehicle maneuvers prior to the crash, inattention was associated with right turns on red (61%), U-turns (57%), starting from park (56%), backing (56%), changing lanes (48%), merging (45%), and making left turns (40%). Misjudgment errors were most likely to occur when overtaking (44%), parking (41%), making left turns (39%), and changing lanes (39%). Dangerous actions common among inattentive older drivers included disregarding traffic controls (72%), following too closely (67%), going the wrong way (54%), failing to yield (52%), improper turns (48%), and speeding (45%). Older drivers classified as having misjudgments were most likely to be involved in improper overtaking (46%), failure to yield (41%), and improper turns (39%).