Abstract
Research was conducted to identify a series of neuropsychological tests to assess the ability to drive. Driving performance of young and old UK drivers was modeled through multiple linear regression and univariate logistic regression tools. The UFOV3 test (i.e. the third subtest of the UFOV test) had comparatively high discriminating ability in separating poor-drivers from not-poor-drivers, with 92.86% of the drivers correctly classified; the UFOV3 test resulted in a Sensitivity of 62.5%. Age and a composite cognitive measure were also found to be sound discriminators of poor-drivers and not-poor-drivers with 91.07% and 89.28% of the drivers correctly classified respectively; both age and the composite cognitive measure resulted in a Sensitivity of 50%. It was found that the commonly recommended Clock Drawing Test and the Trail Making-B test were insignificant predictors of driving ability. Results suggest that for a score greater than 220 on the UFOV3 test, the driver may be further evaluated by a driving specialist to ascertain questionable driving behavior. Also, drivers above the age of 77 were more susceptible to exhibiting unusual driving behavior; if such drivers have UFOV3 scores greater than 220 it would be more appropriate to evaluate driving behavior through a driving specialist.
Highlights
The proportion of licensed drivers is increasing in the general driving population and a substantial number within this population group are experiencing a neuropsychological decline in functions that are critical to the driving task
About 40% of the driving population will be over the age of 60 by the year 2020 in the United Kingdom (UK) and currently, several hundred thousand drivers with dementia hold driving licenses [15]
Utilizing US data from 1994 to 1996 relevant to crashes with regard to age and sex of road users, it was found that when seventy-years-old male drivers had their annual license renewal, on average they posed 40% less of a threat to other drivers/pedestrians than the annual license renewal of forty-year-old male drivers [13]
Summary
The proportion of licensed drivers is increasing in the general driving population and a substantial number within this population group are experiencing a neuropsychological decline in functions that are critical to the driving task. Researchers point out that since older drivers are susceptible to get injured and accidents are reported on the basis of personal injury or fatality, this leads to a sampling bias which shows an increase in age related risk for older drivers according to official statistics [18]. It was pointed out that the higher casualty rate per mile reported for the older driver group was on account of the fact that as drivers get older they tend to have lower annual mileage driven [4]. Researchers while studying twovehicle crashes for 1992–1994 as recorded by police found that when risk estimates for elderly drivers are based on the number of licensed drivers, they do not constitute an accurate analysis of the issue [11].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
