Practitioner's Toolkit—OT’s role in driving rehab

Practitioner directory

The practitioner directory allows consumers and health professionals to find an occupational therapy practitioner.

AOTA’s statement on driving and community mobility

This statement is AOTA's official document describing occupational therapy’s role in driving rehabilitation across the life span.

Occupational therapy in driving and community mobility

This paper states the World Federation of Occupational Therapists' (WFOT’s) position on driving and community mobility. Driving is defined as the ability to control and operate a vehicle, whether motorized (e.g., automobile, motorcycle) or non-motorized (e.g., bicycle). Community mobility includes transport in “other-propelled,” often shared vehicles (e.g., bus, taxi, rail).

ChORUS Clearing House for Older Road User Safety

The Clearinghouse for Older Road User Safety (ChORUS) is a project of the Roadway Safety Foundation to serve as a centralized, user-friendly, and dynamic source of information pertaining to highway safety for aging drivers, passengers, pedestrians, and cyclists.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is the federal agency with the mission to save lives, prevent injuries, and reduce economic costs due to road traffic crashes, through education, research, safety standards, and enforcement activity. NHTSA has partnered with occupational therapy to develop a variety of resources in the area of driving across the lifespan.

Medical fact sheets for medical professionals

NHTSA informational fact sheets about medical conditions’ impact on driving (e.g., cardiovascular, cognitive, dementia, diabetes, functional conditions, physical limitations, seizures, sleep disorders, visual impairment).

Medical fitness guidelines

NHTSA provides guidance to assist licensing agencies in making decisions about an individual’s fitness for driving. Use as a resource to review the evidence about various medical conditions and whether the experts believe there is enough evidence for licensure decisions to be based on a diagnosis.

A taxonomy and terms for stakeholders in senior mobility (Circular Number E-C211, July 2016).

Transportation Research Board publication designed to facilitate communication and promote best practice among various disciplines and professional organizations committed to safe, independent, and dignified options for older adults to remain mobile in their communities.

Automotive Safety Program

The program directs child passenger safety research, education, and training.

Easter Seals

Easter Seals' mission is to break down barriers to inclusion for people with disabilities.

National Center for Safe Routes to Schools

Safe Routes to School programs aim to make it safer for students to walk and bike to school and encourage more walking and biking where safety is not a barrier.

Teen driving—National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Find in-depth information on some of the most common safety problems novice teen drivers should avoid.

Ride Safe

Information to help travel more safely in motor vehicles while seated in wheelchair.

Safe Kids USA

Safe Kids Worldwide® is a nonprofit organization working to help families and communities keep kids safe from injuries.

Safe Routes to Schools National Partnership

The Safe Routes Partnership is a national nonprofit organization working to advance safe walking and rolling to and from schools and in everyday life, improving the health and well-being of people of all races, income levels, and abilities, and building healthy, thriving communities for everyone.

Plan for the Road Ahead

Planning for transportation needs, finances, and housing will offer individuals the greatest opportunity for choice and control. Plan for The Road Ahead offers educational resources and tools for consumers, family members, and medical professionals.

Driver licensing policies and practices database

Choose from a drop-down list of topic areas to display state-specific information that was gathered from a current AAAFTS survey of U.S. state and Canadian province driver license agencies.

Senior licensing laws

AAA is committed to helping keep seniors safe while on the road. State licensing agencies can help extend safe mobility for the older and medically at-risk drivers.

Teen driving safety

AAA's teen driving resources for parents and teens looking to being their journey as independent drivers.

The evaluation includes the following components:

• Reaction time, needed for stopping fast enough to avoid a crash;
• Basic visual acuity, or sharpness of vision; and
• Decision making (e.g., needed for making left turns).

As therapists specializing in driving evaluations, you are trained to assess the physical, visual, and mental abilities required for safe driving. The behind-the-wheel or on-road part of the evaluation takes place in a vehicle equipped with safety equipment such as an instructor’s brake. The on-road evaluation identifies an older driver’s strengths and weaknesses and ways to keep driving safely. If necessary, the evaluation may use adaptive equipment.

• Based on the evaluation, you can make recommendations on strategies, specialized equipment, and training to improve a person's driving safety and overall health and well-being.
• If the evaluation results indicate the need to stop driving, you can help your clients understand why this is the most appropriate option for their safety and others.

Buy a copy of the OT-Driver Off Road Assessment (OT-DORA) Battery - A clinical assessment of fitness to drive, administered by occupational therapists and clinical driving rehabilitation specialists. It comes as a book containing previously published assessments as well as those developed specifically for this battery.

Occupational Therapy Checklist of Community Mobility Skills (CCMS)

The checklist can assist individuals in identifying transportation options with respect to community mobility. The tool supports practitioners to identify various transportation options that support community engagement based on individual impairment and mobility needs.

The Fitness To Drive Screening (FTDS)

The FTDS Measure is a web-based tool ready for use by caregivers and/or family members of older drivers and occupational therapy practitioners (OT) to detect older drivers at risk. Based on the specific driver category, recommendations are suggested for each driver. The recommendations entail guidelines for continued fitness to drive, options for seeking intervention, or starting conversations about stopping driving. Access the FTDS Measure for free!

Client Tool

Self-Awareness and Feedback for Responsible Driving

An online workbook to help clients think about the health concerns that could affect safe driving. This workbook is intended only as an initial screening tool.