Countermeasures to improve the driving performance of older drivers

A 2-year study of the problems of older drivers (N = 105) was conducted by a team of researchers from the disciplines of traffic engineering, gerontology, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and driver education. The objective of the research was to develop and evaluate countermeasures to improve the safety of older drivers. During the first year, the problems of older drivers were examined and the following countermeasures designed: (a) physical therapy, (b) perceptual therapy, (c) driver education, and (d) traffic engineering improvements. In the second year, the effects of these countermeasures on the driving performance of older drivers were evaluated. All of the countermeasures improved the older adults’ performance. Combining driver education with physical or perceptual therapy tended to increase the improvement in driving performance, but none of the increases were statistically significant (s >.015). The countermeasures provided an average improvement in driving performance of 7.9%. Analysis indicated that traffic engineering improvements would be most cost-effective on high-volume roadways and the other countermeasures would be most cost-effective on low-volume roadways.