The relationship between cognitive performance, perceptions of driving comfort and abilities, and self-reported driving restrictions among healthy older drivers

Abstract

The objective of the present study was to examine the relationship between cognitive performance, driver perceptions and self-reported driving restrictions. A cross-sectional analysis was conducted on baseline data from Candrive II, a five-year prospective cohort study of 928 The baseline data indicates this cohort is largely a cognitively intact group. Univariate regression analysis showed that longer Trails A and B completion times were significantly, but only modestly associated with reduced driving frequency and perceived driving abilities and comfort, as well as a significant tendency to avoid more difficult driving situations (all p < .05). Most of these associations persisted after adjusting for age and sex, as well as indicators of health, vision, mood and physical functioning. Exceptions were Trails A and B completion times and situational driving frequency, as well as time to complete Trails B and current driving restrictions. After adjusting for the confounding factors, the total MoCA score was not associated with any of the driving measure scores while the number of errors on Trails A was significantly associated only with situational driving frequency and number of errors on Trails B was significantly associated only with situational driving avoidance. Prospective follow-up will permit examination of whether baseline cognition or changes in cognition are associated with changes in driver perceptions, actual driving restrictions and on-road driving outcomes (e.g., crashes, violations) over time.4

Passive Assessment of Routine Driving with Unobtrusive Sensors: A New Approach for Identifying and Monitoring Functional Level in Normal Aging and Mild Cognitive Impairment

“…Accumulating evidence suggests that certain changes in routine driving may also be associated with emerging cognitive decline due to early neurodegenerative disease [12, 16]. Self-report, informant-report, and simulator studies have observed that older adults with MCI have more difficulty driving, drive less often, make more errors, and are less confident drivers compared to cognitively intact older adults [12, 16–18]. Although self-report is a common method of gathering information about one’s daily functioning, accuracy of self-reported driving behavior has been repeatedly questioned [19].…”

Validity of the Mini‐Mental State Examination and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment in the Prediction of Driving Test Outcome

“…The usefulness of the MoCA as a predictor of driving safety has not been firmly established. A study examining the relationship between cognitive performance, perceptions of driving, and self‐reported driving practices of healthy older adults found that the MoCA was not helpful in this regard . A preliminary study found that the MoCA and the MMSE were equally effective in predicting on‐road performance, but this comparison was based on only 47 individuals and did not consider the asymmetry between MMSE and MoCA scores.…”

Attitudes among older drivers towards medical assessment at renewal of driving license in Sweden

“…One such test is the Useful Field of View (UFOV) test, which successfully predicts safe driving/driving performance [4][5][6][7] in older adults. Another cognitive test strongly associated with driving ability in relation to avoiding difficult traffic situations is the Trail Making Test [8,9].…”