Many older drivers with visual problems meet the legal requirements for licensing despite having functional impairments that elevate crash risk. In a sample of 402 visually impaired older drivers (aged 60-91 years), over half believed that their vision was not likely to cause them to crash. 80% acknowledged that they would feel more protected against crashing if they avoided certain driving situations. However, 75% of the sample reported never or rarely avoiding such situations (e.g., left turns, interstate highways). Almost 70% of drivers reported high self-efficacy in their ability to self-regulate and use alternative strategies. These data imply that behavioural interventions promoting compensatory strategies of self-regulation may be useful in maintaining mobility while improving the safety of high-risk older drivers. These findings serve as baseline for our ongoing study evaluating whether an educational intervention will increase self-regulation and improve older driver safety. (A)
Abstract