Predicting older adults' driving difficulties using the roadwise review

Abstract

The Roadwise Review has been reported to provide an effective means of self-assessing and predicting driving difficulties in older adults. We administered it to 73 community-dwelling older drivers (M = 73 years) and also gathered data on self-reported driving difficulties, 2-year retrospective collisions, and moving violations. The acuity tests and Useful Field of View exhibited substantial ceiling effects that limit predictive utility, and there was a high failure rate on the head and neck flexibility test. Additionally, the Roadwise Review did not predict self-reported driving problems or collision risk. Thus, in current form, it does not appear to be a useful tool for assessing older drivers. Future research efforts should assess predictive validity in a more heterogeneous sample of older adults and with a broader range of outcomes, including on-road driving performance. © The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved.