Centre for Policy on Ageing



A traffic sign recognition test can discriminate between older drivers who have and have not had a motor vehicle crash
Author(s)	Jan M MacGregor, Daniel H Freeman, Dong Zhang
Journal title	Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, vol 49, no 4, April 2001
Pages	pp 466-469
Keywords	Driving capability ; Drivers accidents ; Mental speed ; Evaluation ; United States of America.
Annotation	The 22 million drivers age 65+ in the US represent 13% of that country's driving population; one in twelve is 80 or older. Although the rate of crashes per person declines steadily with age, the rate per mile rises steadily after the age of 70. This study in Galveston, Texas, using a Traffic Sign Recognition Test (TSRT), found that the test significantly distinguished between 60 drivers who had crashed and 60 controls, which the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) did not. However, whilst the TSRT successfully identified older drivers who had recently had a crash, the test lacks sensitivity and specificity. A prospective study is needed to further delineate the TSRT's usefulness in predicting crash risk in older drivers. (RH).
Accession Number	CPA-020115216 A
Classmark	OPF: OPD: DG: 4C: 7T
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.