What can you say?

• Questions surrounding older driver safety and community mobility are getting increased attention in the media and from policymakers, advocates for the elderly, government agencies, and a variety of health professions.
• Driving is an instrumental activity of daily living and we can provide screening, assessment, comprehensive evaluation, remediation, and deliver assistance to help transition to other forms of transportation.
• It is important to maintain an ongoing discussion about older driver safety and community mobility in your community. Whether it’s in a conversation with a physician or an interview with the local media, these talking points will help you focus attention on facts that can help shed light on the issue for the public and other audiences.

What should you know?

• The most common cause of unsafe driving by older drivers includes vision impairment, cognitive limitations, side effects of medications, slower reaction times, muscular difficulties, and limited range of motion.
• Most seniors depend on an automobile for the bulk of their travel, with 90% of their trips taken in private vehicles, either as drivers or passengers.
• Traveling in a private vehicle, particularly driving it, provides seniors with independence. It enables them to get to essential services and make social contact outside the home. For many, it is an important aspect of wellness and aging in place.
• Most older adults gradually withdraw from driving when physical and mental limitations make it difficult to drive safely.
• When driving is limited, seniors may find themselves isolated from the activities that filled their lives, especially if they live in suburban or rural areas where public transportation can be difficult. Isolation can weaken the quality of life and speed up health decline.

The baby boomers are coming!

• Our population is aging at a rate faster than it is growing. While 1 in 8 people older than age 65 today, the ratio of people who will be older than 65 by 2030 is expected to be 1 in 5. The figure is expected to be 70 million in 2030.
• After age 60, the rate of driver deaths in automobile crashes rises and grows sharply as age increases. For those ages 75 to 79, the rate of driver deaths per year is almost triple the rate for people ages 30 to 59. For ages 80 and older (the fastest-growing age group), the rate is more than 4 times that of drivers ages 30 to 59.

Explaining older drivers’ driving habits

• Although seniors actually have fewer crashes than do drivers in other age groups, they are more likely to be seriously injured or killed in a crash.
• Older drivers pose the greatest risk to themselves and are not a significant risk to others.
• Older drivers may be unaware of how to attain the optimal vehicle fit to benefit from the vehicle's safety features.

Public and private response to older driver needs

• To ensure safe mobility, transportation experts are focusing on improving transportation safety on several fronts:
  • Safer roadways and automobiles
  • Better alternative transportation services
  • Better walkways and pedestrian safety
  • Improved competency of older drivers
• Automobile manufacturers have begun redesigning cars that are easier to use and are promoting adaptive devices to accommodate drivers with special needs, including older drivers.
• Some states are revising licensure laws for seniors.

What should occupational therapy do for older drivers?

• Perform activity of daily living skills assessments that determine if an older driver may benefit from referral to a driving specialist.
• Conduct clinical and on-road driving assessments and offer treatment plans that range from modifying driving habits to installing adaptive equipment in the automobile.
• Help ease seniors through the possible transition to other modes of transportation.
• Work with policymakers, government agencies, and other advocacy groups to address older driver safety and community mobility.

What's going on now?

• We have received funding from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) to:
  • Develop and disseminate education modules for occupational therapy and occupational therapy assistant students.
  • Create online continuing education for occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants already in practice.
  • Design informational resources for stakeholders and a toolkit to guide program development that addresses the need for more specialized programs to meet the increasing demand.

All means of locomotion that supplement ambulation (Case-Smith, Allen, & Pratt, 1996).

An individual who meets the educational and experiential requirements and successfully completes the certification exam provided by the Association of Driver Rehabilitation Specialists (ADED, 2004).

A specialist who “plans, develops, coordinates, and implements driver rehabilitation services for individuals with disabilities” (ADED, 2004).

An allied health professional with specialized training, experience, and credentials in driver rehabilitation services, including evaluating and training people with disabilities in driving or safe transportation (Pierce, 2002).

“Moving self in the community and using private or public transportation, such as driving or accessing buses, taxi cabs, or other public transportation systems” (American Occupational Therapy Association, 2002, p. 620).

A professional with a college degree in education with specialized study in driver education or traffic safety.

Operation of a motorized vehicle, with or without adaptive equipment, to travel in a safe manner in coordination with other drivers on public roadways to the desired destination.

As required by many states, an individual with a high school degree and a clear legal and driving record, has completed a driver education training program, and has been licensed as a driving instructor by the state motor vehicle administration.

The degree to which standardized test results can be used to generalize and predict an individual’s performance in a naturalistic environment (Hart & Hayden, 1986).

A process of analyzing trends that allows decision-makers both to understand the external environment and the interconnections of its various sectors and to translate this into planning and decision-making processes (Morrison, 1992).

Basic control of a motorized vehicle, such as steering, acceleration, and braking functions (Michon, 1979).

The highest level of the three demands of driving; involves judgment, planning, and foresight, such as choosing to reschedule a trip due to a snowstorm (Michon, 1979).

Ongoing decisions made while interacting with traffic while driving, such as time and space judgment of a safe gap in traffic to execute a left turn (Michon, 1979).