TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2016//
TI  - Comparison of a virtual older driver assessment with an on-road driving test
JO  - Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
A1  - Eramudugolla, Ranmalee
A1  - Price, Jasmine
A1  - Chopra, Sidhant
A1  - Li, Xiaolan
A1  - Anstey, Kaarin J.
SP  - e253
EP  - e258
VL  - 64
IS  - 12
N2  - OBJECTIVES: To design a low-cost simulator-based driving assessment for older adults and to compare its validity with that of an on-road driving assessment and other measures of older driver risk. <br><br>DESIGN: Cross-sectional observational study. SETTING: Canberra, Australia. PARTICIPANTS: Older adult drivers (N = 47; aged 65-88, mean age 75.2). MEASUREMENTS: Error rate on a simulated drive with environment and scoring procedure matched to those of an on-road test. Other measures included participant age, simulator sickness severity, neuropsychological measures, and driver screening measures. Outcome variables included occupational therapist (OT)-rated on-road errors, on-road safety rating, and safety category. <br><br>RESULTS: Participants' error rate on the simulated drive was significantly correlated with their OT-rated driving safety (correlation coefficient (r) = -0.398, P =.006), even after adjustment for age and simulator sickness (P =.009). The simulator error rate was a significant predictor of categorization as unsafe on the road (P =.02, sensitivity 69.2%, specificity 100%), with 13 (27%) drivers assessed as unsafe. Simulator error was also associated with other older driver safety screening measures such as useful field of view (r = 0.341, P =.02), DriveSafe (r = -0.455, P <.01), and visual motion sensitivity (r = 0.368, P =.01) but was not associated with memory (delayed word recall) or global cognition (Mini-Mental State Examination). Drivers made twice as many errors on the simulated assessment as during the on-road assessment (P <.001), with significant differences in the rate and type of errors between the two mediums. <br><br>CONCLUSION: A low-cost simulator-based assessment is valid as a screening instrument for identifying at-risk older drivers but not as an alternative to on-road evaluation when accurate data on competence or pattern of impairment is required for licensing decisions and training programs.<br><br>© 2016, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2016, The American Geriatrics Society.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0002-8614
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jgs.14548
ID  - ref1
ER  -