This paper describes the main trends on research on older drivers during the last three decades, and focuses on accident research. Rather than attempting an exhaustive review of all relevant research, the paper aims to illustrate certain paradigm shifts with a few examples of representative studies. For clarity, it is organised chronologically by decade. During the 1970s, the `older driver problem' first became established as a result of intensive researches on older drivers by the end of the 1960s, mainly in the USA. In the 1980s, research was directed towards a more thorough understanding of the general characteristics of this problem. At the same time, it was increasingly recognised that the problem might not be general, but vary greatly between different older individuals. In many cases, older people's driving ability was affected more by specific illnesses than by general ageing. By the 1990s, the research emphasis had shifted to finding out which older drivers have higher accident risk. Dementia of Alzheimer type received the most attention of all the illnesses that might increase driving risk, but there was much controversy about whether this should be used as a basis for legal restrictions. Cognitive decline with age could also increase accident risk. Recent research seems to have wider scope than before, often studying driving behaviour in relation to everyday life.
Samenvatting