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Citation |
McKnight AJ, Urquijo JI. Transp. Res. Rec. 1993; 1405: 81. |
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Copyright |
(Copyright © 1993, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences USA, Publisher SAGE Publishing) |
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DOI |
unavailable |
PMID |
unavailable |
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Abstract |
Most referrals of older drivers to motor vehicle departments for reexamination are made by police. A sample of 1,000 completed referral forms used by police was obtained from five states and analyzed to identify the bases of referral. Accidents were found to serve as the leading source of contact between police and older drivers, closely followed by traffic violations. The bases for referral for reexamination (in order of decreasing frequency) were sensory deficiencies, mental states, attentional deficiencies, medical conditions, motor deficiencies, cognitive deficiencies, other aberrant behavior, physical deficiencies, a history of driving problems, and the testimony of others. The relative involvement of these referral bases were constant over the age range represented by older drivers except for sensory deficiencies (vision and hearing), which increased in frequency with age, and medical conditions, which declined in frequency. Although significant differences were observed among states, the differences are outweighed by the similarities, and the results from the five states provide a reasonably reliable estimate of the bases for reexamination referral across the country. The preponderance of problems that would not be readily apparent to medical practitioners points to the need for routine, periodic reexamination as a means of ensuring the safety of both older drivers and the motoring public. Language: en |