More than 5,700 older adults were reportedly killed as a result of motor vehicle crashes in 2014, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Another 236,000 people were treated in emergency departments as a result of car crashes involving elderly drivers.

That means, on average, 16 older adults are killed and 648 people are injured every single day in the U.S. as a result of unfit senior drivers.

More than 40 million licensed drivers are age 65 or older in the United States.

Many of those millions of elderly drivers are perfectly fit to drive.

But how can we know for sure whether it’s time for them to stop driving?

Driving Evaluation for Elderly/h2>

One study out of Japan looked at methods for assessing the driving ability of the elderly and explored thoughts on its systematization. In that country, traffic accidents caused by elderly drivers resulting in personal injury or death had nearly tripled between 1998 and 2008 and elderly drivers totaled more than 40 percent of all traffic fatalities in 2008.

Although driving assessments typically do not begin until advanced age, this study suggested that regular assessments should be performed beginning in middle age.

“Although driving ability decreases with advanced age, few elderly people recognize the decline in their own visual, cognitive and decision performance; this lack of awareness is a major cause of accidents,” the study suggested. “To reduce the number of accidents involving elderly drivers, it is critical that, beginning early in middle age, drivers undergo regular assessments of driving ability (particularly visual, cognitive and decision performance), are aware of their own abilities and driving aptitude, and maintain and improve their driving ability through reeducation and training.”

Researchers used video simulations of actual driving situations to develop an experimental system. The goal was to comprehensively measure the essential functions needed for safe driving.

These functions include:

• Visual performance – measuring peripheral vision loss caused by aging.
• Cognitive and decision performance – including visuo-spatial perception at intersections and decline of attentiveness.

Ultimately, researchers hoped to develop a system to comprehensively measure vital driving functions, contribute to driving aptitude tests and self-awareness for the elderly, and help the elderly maintain their driving ability through reeducation and with virtual driving simulator training.

The Research

Researchers first reviewed statistical data and summarized common patterns:

• Most accidents caused by elderly drivers occur at intersections; an especially high number occur at intersections without stoplights
• Many vehicle-to-vehicle accidents are either offset frontal or right-turn collisions
• Single vehicle accidents tend to be either roadway departures or collisions with structures at curves
• Common violations leading to accidents include failure to come to a complete stop, running red lights and impeding the right of way of others

“These accidents and violations, which occur more commonly with advanced age, are closely related to driving behavior characteristic of elderly drivers such as errors of cognition or decision, that is, to the decline in driving ability that comes with age,” the study reports. “Elderly drivers experience a marked decline in their ability to attend simultaneously to multiple objects in high-traffic situations and to rapidly grasp changing conditions (cognitive and decision performance). In addition they have greater difficulty maintaining appropriate attention levels for long periods of time.”

Visual performance declines as we age. Peripheral vision, depth perception, and spatial relations are all affected. Objects more frequently go unnoticed by drivers with advanced age in low-light conditions (e.g., twilight or nighttime).

“Furthermore, since roughly 70% of those in their sixties and 80-90% of those in their seventies have age-related cataracts, there is concern that significantly reduced static visual acuity may lead to accidents not only in low-light conditions but also under glare conditions (caused, for example, by the setting sun or on-coming vehicle headlights),” according to the study.

Problems with Conventional Assessments and New Measurement Systems

Written and computerized National Police Agency driver aptitude tests – which focus on attentiveness and judgment – are currently used to evaluate the driving fitness of elderly drivers.

Examinees are instructed to find targets in photographs of driving scenes and select proper responses. Computerized tests measure reaction times to test primarily for reaction and decision-making speed and check reaction consistency and relaxation response.

The results of both written and computerized tests serve as a guide for safe driving instruction.

However, the study suggests these tests are inadequate for reminding elderly drivers of dangerous driving situations or promoting awareness of safe driving because they only measure emergency situation response.

Researchers highlight the need for a way to assess cognitive and decision performance in everyday driving situations, when various objects require attention and multiple decisions must be made over a continuous period of time.

The authors developed a comprehensive virtual system to measure three critical factors needed for safe driving: visual, cognitive, and decision performance.

The main elements of the system include simulating driving images that mirror actual driving situations and enabling replication of driving operations (steering, accelerating, and braking).

The simulated images covered a wide range of driving environments and situations.

Timing of traffic signals, appearance of objects, inclusion of vehicles and pedestrians, and other controllable elements were adjusted for differing degrees of difficulty. Three levels of driver workload were established to measure fitness when attention was divided amongst various objects.

Measurements were made of visual functions necessary for safe driving including multiple visual factors and measures driving performance in situations (like intersections) where accidents involving the elderly are more likely to take place.

Results showed that the elderly had more difficulty reading visual targets under lower contrast conditions. In addition, those with age-related cataracts had significantly lower visual acuity than the healthy elderly, particularly under glare conditions.

Researchers concluded:

“Ultimately, the system seeks not only to promote self-awareness of declining driving abilities among the elderly, but also to be used in maintaining and improving driving ability through reeducation and training. In addition, there are also plans to assess not only healthy drivers but also those suspected of dementia in order to consider ways to predict dangerous driving behavior and method for the early detection of dementia.”

DriveSafety Products

While the research discussed in this article focused on the elderly in Japan, DriveSafety virtual driving simulators can drastically improve the mobility of seniors here in the U.S.

DriveSafety clinical virtual driving simulators utilize four phases of therapy, skills assessment, and rehabilitation to create a driving evaluation for elderly drivers. These four phases are vital for any driving assessment for seniors and elderly drivers:

• Phase I: Pre-Driving Clinical Exercises, Basic Functional Abilities
• Phase II: More Functional Abilities in the Context of Simple Driving
• Phase III: Progressive Basic Driving Skills
• Phase IV: Advanced Driving Skills and Naturalistic Scenarios

According to a Consumer Reports survey, the top reasons the elderly said they would very likely stop driving:

• If I sensed I was endangering myself or others: 65 percent
• Doctor’s judgment: 58 percent
• Having too many accidents or close calls: 56 percent
• Professional consultant’s advice: 43 percent
• Declining ability to respond quickly to surrounding traffic: 41 percent
• Advice from family: 29 percent

However, the elderly often aren’t ready or able to self-identify when driving ability begins to decline.

DriveSafety simulators can assist family members, care givers, and medical professionals in making decisions about driving fitness for those with advanced age through subjective models and with the help of certified specialists.

Call to schedule a consultation today with a certified specialist to learn more.