Citation

D'Ambrosio LA, Coughlin J, Mohyde M, Gilbert J, Reimer B. Transp. Res. Rec. 2007; 2009: 23-39.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences USA, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.3141/2009-04

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Decisions about limiting or stopping driving are among the most difficult that older adults face. There is little research related to this decision making of older drivers, family members, and other trusted individuals who contribute to the decision. To report on the preferences that older drivers have for conversations with others with concerns about their driving, this paper draws on a series of focus groups and a U.S. survey of drivers age 50 and older. A majority of survey respondents indicated that they engaged in some degree of voluntary self-regulation of their driving. People generally preferred to be approached by individual family members as opposed to those outside the family for conversations about their driving. In terms of preferences for who should speak with the older driver, differences emerged on the basis of household status. Most older adults who were married preferred to hear first from a spouse, although the choice was not universal. Doctors and adult children were also preferred choices for conversations. The paper concludes with a discussion of pragmatic implications of the research for conducting conversations with older adults about concerns with their driving.

Language: en