Predictors of older drivers' participation in everyday driving challenges

Objective: This study examined the cognitive and physiological factors influencing older adults' participation in performing various driving maneuvers.

Methods: A community-dwelling sample of 50 healthy or mildly cognitively impaired older adults (58% female; mean age = 76.4 years; mean education = 16.2 years) completed a Driving Habits Questionnaire (DHQ), brief vision screening, and a comprehensive cognitive assessment. The DHQ is a self-report measuring recent engagement and difficulty experienced in challenging driving situations (e.g. driving in high traffic). Cognitive assessment constructs selected for this study include cognitive status as measured with the Mini Mental Status Exam (MMSE), reaction time on a task requiring vigilance and auditory working memory (N-back), picture naming using the Boston Naming Test (BNT), and the Useful Field of View (UFOV) test of visual attention.

Results: Picture naming (ß=.5, p< .001), visual acuity (&(ß=-.38, p= .002), and reaction time (ß=-.36, p=.004), in a combined statistical model, significantly predicted the number of driving maneuvers performed by older adults (R²=.46, p<.001). Mental status and UFOV, also included in the model, did not predict number of driving maneuvers.

Conclusion: Cognitive status, at least at the stages of mild cognitive impairment, does not appear to affect older drivers' participation in driving behaviors, as demonstrated by their willingness to perform challenging driving maneuvers. Older drivers' behavior does appear to be influenced by their ability to see clearly, to react quickly while being vigilant, and their naming ability, which is sometimes considered as a measure of vocabulary or general verbal intelligence.