AN EVALUATION OF RESTRICTED LICENSING FOR NORTH CAROLINA'S OLDER DRIVERS

Older drivers make up a growing percentage of the driving population, both nationally and in North Carolina. While older drives are involved in relatively small numbers of crashes, their crash rate based on the miles they drive rises sharply after age 70 or 75. Drivers age 75 and above have a 24% higher crash rate than all drivers. Their rate of fatal crash involvement is even more elevated, due to their greater vulnerability to injury once in a crash. Driving is a complex task requiring integration of a number of visual, cognitive, and psychomotor skills. Many of the skills needed to operate a motor vehicle safety may be compromised with age or as a consequence of the various medical conditions that often accompany aging. Still, older people, like the rest of the driving population, are overwhelmingly dependent on private vehicles to meet their transportation needs. Clearly there is a need to allow older adults to continue to drive as long as they can do so safely. Restricted licensing may be a potentially useful tool for helping some older adults drive safely longer. The project reported on in this paper had three major objectives: 1. to evaluate existing North Carolina practices in regard to restricted licensing for older drivers and its effects on safety; 2. to determine older drivers' knowledge and attitudes toward restricted licensing; and 3. to obtain input from driver license examiners regarding restricted licenses as a potential tool for helping some older adults drive safely longer.

• Record URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/40605
• Corporate Authors:

  University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

  Highway Safety Research Center
  Chapel Hill, NC  United States  27599
• Authors:
  • Stutts, J C
  • Stewart, J R
  • Van Heusen-Causey, S
• Publication Date: 2000-12

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 47 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Abilities; Aged drivers; Attitudes; Cognition; Driver examiners; Driver licensing; Evaluation; Fatalities; Knowledge; Mobility; Motor skills; Traffic crashes; Traffic safety; Visual perception
• Uncontrolled Terms: Driver licensing restrictions
• Geographic Terms: North Carolina
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00808876
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: NTL, TRIS
• Created Date: Apr 17 2001 12:00AM