OLDER DRIVERS AND CATARACT: DRIVING HABITS AND CRASH RISK

This paper examines the driving habits and crash risk of older adults with cataract. A sample of 384 licensed drivers aged 55-85, including 279 with cataract (mean age 71) and 105 without cataract (mean age 67) were recruited from eye clinics to complete the Driving Habits Questionnaire (DHQ) with its 6 domains: current driving status, driving exposure, dependence on other drivers, driving difficulty, driving range from home, and self-reported crashes and citations. Crash data over the previous 5 years was obtained from state records, and visual functional tests documented the severity of vision impairment; general health, mental status, and depression were also assessed. Compared with those without cataract, older drivers with cataract were approximately twice as likely to report reductions in days driven and number of destinations/week, driving slower than the general traffic flow, and preferring someone else to drive. Those with cataract were 5 times more likely to have received advice about limiting their driving and were 4 times more likely to report difficulty with challenging driving situations. A significant association was found between cataract and at-fault crash involvement, even after adjustment for driving exposure and comorbidity. The DHQ is appended.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/10795006
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Pages M203-M211
• Corporate Authors:

  Gerontological Society of America

  1030 15th Street, NW, Suite 250
  Washington, DC  United States  20005-4006
• Authors:
  • Owsley, C
  • Stalvey, B
  • Wells, J
  • Sloane, M E
• Publication Date: 1999-4

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: References;
• Serial:
  • Journals of Gerontology. Series A: Biological and Medical Sciences
  • Volume: 54
  • Issue Number: 4
  • Publisher: Gerontological Society of America
  • ISSN: 1079-5006
  • EISSN: 1758-535X
  • Serial URL: http://biomedgerontology.oxfordjournals.org/

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Aged; Aged drivers; Automobile driving; Behavior; Crash risk forecasting; Crashes; Diseases and medical conditions; Driving; High risk drivers; Questionnaires; Traffic safety
• Uncontrolled Terms: Cataract; Driving habits
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00792518
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: May 1 2000 12:00AM