Cognitive predictors of unsafe driving in older drivers: a meta-analysis

Background: Older drivers are at a higher risk of being involved in a motor vehicle accident. However, on-road assessments of all older drivers are impractical, highlighting the need to screen for potentially unsafe drivers. This study undertook a meta-analysis of research examining the cognitive pr...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:International psychogeriatrics 2009-08, Vol.21 (4), p.637-653
Main Authors: Mathias, J. L., Lucas, L. K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accidents, Traffic - prevention & control
Accidents, Traffic - psychology
Accidents, Traffic - statistics & numerical data
Adult. Elderly
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Applied psychology
Attention
Automobile Driver Examination - psychology
Automobile Driver Examination - statistics & numerical data
Automobile driving
Biological and medical sciences
Cognition & reasoning
Cognition Disorders - diagnosis
Cognition Disorders - epidemiology
Cognition Disorders - psychology
Computer Simulation
Cross-Sectional Studies
Developmental psychology
Evidence-Based Medicine
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Male
Mass Screening
Memory, Short-Term
Motion Perception
Motor ability
Neuropsychological Tests - statistics & numerical data
Older people
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Psychometrics
Psychomotor Performance
Reaction Time
Risk Assessment
Risk Factors
South Australia
Systematic review
Traffic accidents & safety
Transportation. City planning
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Background: Older drivers are at a higher risk of being involved in a motor vehicle accident. However, on-road assessments of all older drivers are impractical, highlighting the need to screen for potentially unsafe drivers. This study undertook a meta-analysis of research examining the cognitive predictors of driving ability in older drivers in order to provide an evidence-based method for screening drivers. Methods: Comprehensive searches were undertaken of the PubMed, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and Health-Source Nursing electronic databases between 1980 and 2007 in order to identify studies that examined cognitive differences between drivers aged over 55 years who either passed or failed a driving assessment. Twenty-one studies were eligible for inclusion. Weighted Cohen's d effect sizes, percentage overlap statistics, Fail-safe Ns and 95% CIs were calculated for all cognitive tests. Results: The best predictors of on-road driving were the Ergovision and Useful Field of View (UFOV) tests, a complex RT task, Paper Folding task, Dot Counting, WMS Visual Reproduction, and Computerized Visual Attention Task. Simulator driving performance was best predicted by the Benton Line Orientation Task, Clock Drawing, a Driver Scanning task, the UFOV, WAIS Picture Arrangement and MMSE. Finally, the Trail Making Test, Stroop, UFOV, WAIS Block Design, and Automated Psychophysical Test were good predictors of driving problems. Conclusions: There are a variety of tests that appear suitable for screening older drivers, the exact choice of which depends on the “gold standard” for determining driving ability (on-road driving, driving simulator, driving problems) and whether a computerized or paper-and-pencil task is required.
ISSN:1041-6102
1741-203X
DOI:10.1017/S1041610209009119