Assessing and Improving the Cognitive and Visual Driving Fitness of CDL Drivers - Phase II

Driving is a highly dynamic task that requires intact cognitive and visual skills to perform safely. Driving a commercial motor vehicle requires careful planning and consideration. These additional factors are highly dependent on cognitive and visual skills for accuracy. This study aims to identify specific clinical tests that correlate well with commercial driver’s license (CDL) driving performance. During year 2 of this proposal, the authors refined their clinical fitness-to-drive assessment battery and recruited 25 individuals with commercial driver’s licenses. The authors developed a two-hour driving fitness assessment battery consisting of tests that have been shown in the literature to be reliable and valid measures of driving-related cognitive and visual skills in drivers, with appropriate scoring systems and recommendation guidelines. On-the-road driving performance was assessed by volunteering annual elog data and a driver’s self-assessment. The goals of this year of the study were to: (1) Approach local and national companies to continue to recruit CDL drivers, (2) Assess the cognitive and visual fitness of CDL drivers by implementing the battery of tests listed above, (3) Confidentially share the results with each CDL driver , (4) Share potential risk factors that contribute to unsafe driving with the CDL driver and provide resources to improve any recognized deficits, (5) Begin collecting the Year 2 driving performance and test data on subjects recruited during Year 1, and (6) Invite medical students to join the research team to assist with recruitment and assessments. To date, the authors have 25 subjects who completed their Year 1 assessments, and they have begun year 2 testing from their year 1 subjects. During years three to five, the authors plan to develop a sensitive measure, using task-evoked pupillary response (TEPR), of cognitive and visual alertness that can indicate cognitive overload capable of resulting in an accident. Over the course of the grant, the authors anticipate the study will identify the top five clinical tests that can correlate well with on-the-road driving safety of CDL drivers and provide data on the utility of TEPR as a measure of driver alertness. The technology transfer products this study hopes to accomplish are to: (1) Improve the annual Department of Transportation (DOT) physical by informing the DOT of these specific tests correlated with CDL driving safety, (2) Provide commercial companies with these tools to improve the safety of their CDL drivers, and (3) Begin design of an alert system that will notify all emergency medical services within a specific radius of an accident of the nature of the hazardous materials being hauled by the commercial vehicle and the extent of damage.

Language

  • English

Media Info

  • Media Type: Digital/other
  • Edition: Final Report
  • Features: References; Tables;
  • Pagination: 22p

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 01722695
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Report/Paper Numbers: MATC-KUMC: 155-2, 25-1121-0005-155-2
  • Contract Numbers: 69A3551747107
  • Files: UTC, TRIS, ATRI, USDOT
  • Created Date: Nov 18 2019 11:04AM