摘要 :
This project was conducted to provide an objective measure of the relationship between older adults scores on a set of driving assessment tools and their (serious point) violations and crashes over a period of 18 months following ...
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This project was conducted to provide an objective measure of the relationship between older adults scores on a set of driving assessment tools and their (serious point) violations and crashes over a period of 18 months following the assessments. An additional objective was to compare alternative methods of measuring driver exposure. The assessments were performed on 692 participants age 70 and older who visited one of four Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) field offices between September 2008 and June 2009, under NHTSA contract DTNH22-05-D-05043, Task Order 10. The assessments emphasized cognitive performance domains, specifically visuospatial ability, speed of (visual information) processing, divided attention, visual search, working memory, and response planning or executive function. Contrast sensitivity was also measured, as well as simple and choice brake reaction time. The functional assessments examined in this research were computer-based and designed to be self-administered, although the assistance of a test administrator was always available and was required for some measures. Univariate and multivariate analyses examined the relationships between functional assessment scores and safety indicators. The measure of executive function (maze performance) was highlighted as a significant predictor of crash risk in the study results. This may be of interest to occupational therapy/driving rehabilitation providers as a potentially valuable tool to support clinical evaluations of fitness to drive; and, to developers of screening tools for early warning of driving impairments, and of products meant to educate older drivers and their families about age-related changes that impact safe driving.
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摘要 :
This workbook will help you learn about age-related changes in abilities andhabits that could affect safe driving. After you respond to questions about yourself, feedback is provided about what various changes may mean for driving...
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This workbook will help you learn about age-related changes in abilities andhabits that could affect safe driving. After you respond to questions about yourself, feedback is provided about what various changes may mean for driving and what you can do to increase safety.
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摘要 :
Focus groups (16) representing older drivers, older driving couples, older formerdrivers, and adult children of older drivers were held in a rural as well as an urban area. The purpose of the focus groups was to learn about older ...
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Focus groups (16) representing older drivers, older driving couples, older formerdrivers, and adult children of older drivers were held in a rural as well as an urban area. The purpose of the focus groups was to learn about older drivers' changing abilities, perceived risk, plans for the future, reactions to testing, and reactions to the possibility of a driving self-evaluation instrument. Results showed that older drivers were aware of their declining perceptual, cognitive, and psychomotor abilities, although they did not seem fully aware of the risks involved. Few older drivers had made plans regarding their driving futures, with most assuming or hoping that they could continue to drive. All groups supported the idea of mandatory, periodic testing for license renewal after a particular age (about 70). Although somewhat skeptical, many older drivers said that they would be willing to use a self-evalaution instrument and they, as well as the adult children of older drivers, thought it could be helpful for older drivers making decisions about driving.
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Older drivers are overrepresented in motor vehicle crash fatalities. As the U.S. population continues to age, this problem will grow. Health care providers (HCPs) are in a position to provide their older patients with education wh...
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Older drivers are overrepresented in motor vehicle crash fatalities. As the U.S. population continues to age, this problem will grow. Health care providers (HCPs) are in a position to provide their older patients with education which may prevent further motor vehicle fatalities. Rural older adults are more likely to equate driving with mobility and quality of life due to a lack of alternative transportation options, often leading them to continue driving longer. This study sought to compare the frequency of mobility counseling provision among rural and urban HCPs to older adults, in addition to determining barriers to providing this information. Surveys were administered to HCPs and older adults in rural and urban areas in the upper Midwest. Older adults in general received little counseling from their HCPs in regard to driving safety or driving cessation, with a majority of respondents having never received any information on this topic. Frequency of mobility counseling provision related to driving cessation as offered by HCPs in general increased with patient age. Rural HCPs were less likely than their urban counterparts to provide this type of information to their patients. One of the greatest barriers HCPs listed to providing mobility counseling was the lack of time during a patient visit. Rural HCPs were also less likely than urban HCPs to feel there are adequate resources for older drivers in their communities, and were less likely to know where to refer their patients in need of testing for their fitness for continued driving.
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National statistics show that older drivers will be increasingly exposed to crash risks because older adults are the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population, and future generations of older drivers are expected to drive mor...
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National statistics show that older drivers will be increasingly exposed to crash risks because older adults are the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population, and future generations of older drivers are expected to drive more miles per year and at older ages compared with the current older-driver cohort. The U.S. Census Bureau projects that the population of adults aged 65 and older will more than double, from 35.1 million people (12.4 percent of total population) in 2000 to 86.7 million people (20.7 percent of total population) by 2050. Drivers aged 65 and older currently make up almost 17 percent of Pennsylvania.s licensed driving population. By 2020, the number of Pennsylvanians over 65 will increase 21 percent from recent levels, with a concomitant increase in the total number of mature drivers and their percentage of the total driving population.2 Certainly, the issue of an aging driving population is important in all states, but mature driver issues are particularly important in Pennsylvania. Compared to other states, Pennsylvania has the fourth largest state population, has one of the largest networks of roadways to maintain and modify, and is a largely rural state -- with citizens requiring transportation options.
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This one-of-a-kind comprehensive study highlights the importance of automated testing techniques and the significance of vision screening measures other than standard visual acuity testing for assessing all drivers and, in particu...
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This one-of-a-kind comprehensive study highlights the importance of automated testing techniques and the significance of vision screening measures other than standard visual acuity testing for assessing all drivers and, in particular, at-risk drivers and older drivers. Non-automated tests tend to be subjective, time-consuming, costly, and heavily reliant on the experience of the examiner. Due to the high collision, injury, and fatality rates of all drivers in the State of Arizona, and the disproportionate number of at-fault older drivers and collision risks in the States of Arizona and Florida, new and automated screening methodologies and vision standards are now needed to promote road safety, predict visual impairment, and evaluate possible restriction or confiscation of driver's licenses. This study demonstrates that environmental factors and manner of collisions increase in collision involvement for drivers between ages 50 to 59 years in both Arizona and Florida. Drivers age 80 to 89 years in both states are most likely at-fault in collisions compared to all other age cohorts. These results are consistent among drivers cited for collision involvement due to visual defects. Our findings, which span an 11- year period from 1991 to 2001, not only apply to Arizona and Florida, two states with some of the largest proportions of older individuals in the United States, but, as our global survey of motor vehicle bureau directors or their representatives of the United States, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia illustrate, any state, country, province, territory, commonwealth, or nation with an increasing number of older drivers. A pilot study, to follow, ultimately allows for the implementation of effective strategies for screening of visual impairment and eye disease in all Arizona drivers. Snellen acuity, the most widely used vision testing measure, accounts for less than 0.1 percent of the visual field and fails to quantify contrast sensitivity and color vision (Fink and Sadun, 2004), two of several visual parameters needed for safe driving. It is recommended that at-risk and older drivers in Arizona are tested for vision through a newly designed system of measures provided by two automated tests (to test vision condition and function) and one driving simulator (to assess eye status). Hence we integrate it into a larger system and provide additional recommendations as these relate to motor vehicle operation skills and cognition. These automated systems and methodologies may ultimately serve as a prototype of transportation license testing improvements for all other states, countries, and agencies (e.g., aviation, rail, maritime, commercial vehicles, etc.) to follow. Such techniques may also reduce the incidence of fraudulent schemes and issuances of driver's licenses, commercial driver's licenses, and hazardous materials transportation licenses.
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摘要 :
The aging of baby boomers poses significant challenges to Wisconsins existing transportation infrastructure and specialized transit programs. From 2010 to 2035, the number of elderly Wisconsinites is projected to grow by 90 percen...
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The aging of baby boomers poses significant challenges to Wisconsins existing transportation infrastructure and specialized transit programs. From 2010 to 2035, the number of elderly Wisconsinites is projected to grow by 90 percent, an increase of 702,760 persons. By 2035, residents age 65 and over will comprise nearly a quarter of the population of Wisconsin, as every county in the state will experience growth in the elderly share of their population over the next 25 years. The U.S. Department of Transportations 2003 National Household Travel Survey found that personally-owned vehicles account for over 90 percent of trips taken by elderly residents; the extrapolation of this data suggests an overwhelming majority of Wisconsins future elderly residents will be accustomed to driving. Because elderly persons are vulnerable to a decline in visual, cognitive, and psychomotor skills, a dramatic increase in the number of elderly drivers has serious safety implications for the state. Elderly drivers are more likely to have crashes on a per-mile basis, more likely to be at fault in a multicar crash, and more likely to be killed or injured than are younger people in a crash of comparable magnitude. When elderly drivers are forced to stop driving or self-regulate in response to declining abilities and safety concerns, they face increased isolation from social, family, and civic activities and decreased access to medical services. These safety and social ramifications demand an examination of the states current driver licensing and education practices, infrastructure design protocols, and specialized and public transit efforts.
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