This study investigated whether self-monitoring of driving by use of driving diaries would improve driving performance in senior drivers. Forty-seven drivers (20 male, 27 females) aged 59 to 87 (mean age = 71.3, SD = 7.4) completed 30 consecutive daily driving diaries assessing driving performance and dangerous events while driving, as part of a larger study. It was incidentally noted that the reported driving of many subjects appeared to be improving over time. Therefore, diary entries for the first four days were compared to the last four days to assess whether this improvement was statistically significant. Paired t-tests revealed significant (p < 0.05) improvements in: maintaining steady speed; keeping up with traffic; maintaining lane position; and a trend toward decreased drifting out of lane (p = .056). McNemar Change Test revealed a significant (p < 0.05) decrease in the number of subjects encountering dangerous events. (i.e., turning the wrong way in one-way situations, slamming on brakes, near collisions). On the other hand, subjects reported rolling through stop signs with a fairly high frequency, which did not decrease over time (p = .4), supporting the veracity and consistency of diary reports. Self-monitoring of driving through use of driving diaries rapidly improved reported driving performance and reduced dangerous driving events in this sample of senior drivers. This finding was quite unexpected and it needs replication. Use of this simple and inexpensive intervention may help to significantly reduce motor vehicle accidents and injuries among senior drivers. (A)
Samenvatting