Healthy elderly drivers are more likely to commit errors or lapses than violations - Survey of 904 volunteers

Objectives - Driving is on important part of everyday life for the elderly today older drivers ore suspected to be involved in more automobile accidents than younger adults. Although healthcare professionals ore aware of specific diseases and impairments that increase accident risks, they cannot distinguish safe from unsafe drivers among the healthy elderly population in general practice. Previous English studies of younger populations differentiate three main types of bad driving that are associated with accident involvement: violations errors, and lapses. The aim of this study was to assess the driving behavior associated with car crashes in a healthy elderly population. Method > This prospective survey of healthy drivers aged 65 years or older living in the community asked subjects about their habitual driving and accident history in the post three years. Subjects also completed the French version of the Manchester Aging Driver Questionnaire, which contains 24 items, scored from 0 (never) to 5 (nearly all the time) and yields three sub-scales: errors, violations, and lapses. Simple logistic regression, adjusted for age and sex, was used to analyze associations between the questionnaire results Grid driving history. Results - These elderly drivers (mean age: 69 years) reported primarily lapses (mean: 5.42) but also violations (mean: 3.76) Grid errors (mean: 2.12). In all, 237 drivers. (27%) reported accidents: 29.4% of the men compared with 20.2% of the women (p < 0.01). After adjustment for age end gender the logistic regression showed four specific errors and one lapse to be associated with accidents: "Queuing to turn left onto main rood, you pay such close attention to the main stream that you nearly hit the car in front" (OR: 1.71; 95% Cl: 1.05-2.08); "On turning left, nearly hit G cyclist who has come up on your side" (OR: 1.58; 95% 0: 1.01-2.45); "Underestimate the speed of on oncoming vehicle when overtaking" (OR: 1.48; 95% 0: 1.09-2.02); "Broke too quickly on a slippery rood, or steer the wrong way into a skid" (OR: 1.60; 95% Cl: 1.15-2.29); and "Hit something when reversing that you hod not previously seen (OR: 1.73; 95% 0: 1.19-2.50). Conclusion > As previously reported, errors and lopses ore more common than violations among healthy elderly drivers. Five specific actions were associated with accident risk. The ADQ is a short, simple survey questionnaire that is useful for screening bad driving behavior in elderly drivers and for promoting safe driving practice among them.