Transcript Slide Show - AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety

Self-Regulation of Driving
by Older Adults:
A LongROAD Study
December 2015
The LongROAD Study
The LongROAD (Longitudinal Research on Aging Drivers) study:
• Will generate the largest and most comprehensive database
about senior drivers in existence and will support in-depth
studies of senior driving and mobility to better understand
risks and develop effective countermeasures.
• Specific emphasis is being placed on issues related to
medications, medical conditions, driving patterns, driving
exposure, self-regulation, and crash risk, along with
mobility options for older Americans who no longer drive.
The LongROAD Study
• This multi-year prospective cohort study is being
conducted at 5 sites throughout the country, with 3,000
participants, tracking 5+ years of driving behaviors and
medical conditions. The multidisciplinary team assembled
to investigate this issue is led by experienced researchers
from Columbia University, University of Michigan
Transportation Research Institute and the Urban
Institute.
The Situation
• Self-regulation - the modification of driving activity
by driving less or avoiding challenging situations in
response to declining abilities
• Self-regulation is being increasingly studied as a way
to help older drivers maintain independence and
extend the period over which they can safely drive
The Situation
• Questions about self-regulation
• Can older drivers correctly adjust their driving in response
to their age-related declines?
• What is the degree to which older drivers engage in selfregulatory behaviors?
• What factors affect self-regulation?
• To what extent does self-regulation actually improve
safety and mobility for older drivers?
Objective
• To summarize the current state of the
literature on self-regulation of driving among
older adults
University of Michigan Transportation
Research Institute (UMTRI)
AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety
Released in December 2015
Part of the LongROAD study
Overview
• An extensive literature review of qualitative and
quantitative and qualitative studies was
conducted on previously published studies of
self-regulation of driving by older drivers from
2009 onward
• 100 studies met the inclusion criteria
• 71 articles pre-2009 we also included
Key Findings
3 levels of self-regulation were identified
• Strategic – decisions made by drivers before
they actually embark on a driving trip
• Tactical – practices that drivers engage in
while they are actually on the road
• Life-goal – larger decisions in life affecting
driving more indirectly
Factors Associated with Self-Regulation
Sociodemographic factors
• Sex – Older women tend to self-regulate their driving more than men
• Age – Driving self-regulation tends to increase with age
• Household composition/living arrangements – mixed effects
• drivers who live alone were more than twice as likely to report
limiting their driving
• another found that those drivers were also more likely to avoid
highway and nighttime driving
• Other individual factors associated with self-regulation:
• Negative attitudes towards driving, poor sense of
direction, income
Factors Associated with Self-Regulation
Health and functioning factors
• Visual impairment –associated with increased
self-regulation
• Cognitive impairment –drivers with cognitive
impairment such as dementia do restrict their
driving or stop driving altogether within a few
years
 Family members and caregivers play a role in
in imposing driving restrictions
Factors Associated with Self-Regulation
Awareness and insight
• Individuals’ awareness of their abilities influences their decisions
to drive in challenging situations
Driving confidence and comfort
• Perceptions of confidence and comfort in specific driving
situations are closely related to self-regulation
Factors Associated with Self-Regulation
Enabling Factors
• Family and caregivers
• Others dependent on their driving
• Transportation support
• Regulatory self-efficacy
Factors Associated with Self-Regulation
Barriers to self-regulation
• Lifestyle
• Lack of availability for others to provide
transportation
• Unwillingness to ask others for rides