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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Older drivers and cataract
— driving habits and crash risk | | Author(s) | Cynthia Owsley, Beth Stalvey, Jennifer Wells |
| Journal title | The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological sciences and Medical Sciences, vol 54A, no 4, April 1999 |
| Pages | pp M203-211 |
| Keywords | Driving capability ; Visual impairment ; Drivers accidents ; Social surveys ; United States of America. |
| Annotation | Cataract is a leading cause of vision impairment in older people, affecting almost half of those aged over 75. This study examines the role of cataract in driving. 279 older people (aged 55-85) with cataract and 105 without cataract who were legally licensed to drive were recruited from eye clinics to participate in a driving habits interview to assess driving status, exposure, difficulty, and "space" (the distance of driving excursions from home base). Crash data for the previous 5 years was obtained from state records. Visual functional tests documented the severity of vision impairment. Compared to those without cataract, older drivers with cataract were approximately twice as likely to report reductions in days driven and number of destinations per week, driving slower than general traffic flow, and preferring someone else to drive. Those with cataract were: five times more likely to have received advice about limiting their driving; four times more likely to report difficulty with challenging driving situations; twice as likely to reduce driving exposure; and 2.5 times more likely to have a history of at-fault crash involvement in the previous 5 years. They therefore experience a decrease in their safety on the road. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-990825329 A |
| Classmark | OPF: BR: OPD: 3F: 7T |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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