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 The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety is directing $12 million to
Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health so researchers
there can study driving behavior and health factors affecting older
drivers for the next five years.
This latest phase in the foundation’s Longitudinal Research on Aging
Drivers (LongROAD) project is expected to clarify the effects of
risk factors, like prescription drug use and deteriorating vision,
on driving. The study will also explore decisions to stop driving,
and mobility options for seniors who no longer drive.
“We honestly don’t feel that if you were to interview traffic safety
experts, they would admit that we know enough today about how to
absolutely guarantee that we can provide the best guidance services,
training and vehicle design to take into consideration limitations
older drivers may have,” said Peter Kissinger, CEO of the AAA
Foundation.
This month, five study sites in California, Colorado, Maryland,
Michigan and New York will begin recruiting drivers between the ages
65 and 79. Their vehicles will be fitted with GPS devices to capture
real time driving patterns; the data will let researchers assess
maneuvers they make, along with where and when seniors choose to
drive. Traffic and accident records will also be followed.
Participants must receive yearly medical examinations to measure
physical and cognitive functions.
“It’s a very comprehensive data collection,” said Columbia
University epidemiologist Guohua Li, the LongROAD project’s
principal investigator. “We want to be ahead of the curve to address
emerging issues rather than looking back and relying on
retrospective data.”
Little data exists about the relationship between aging and driving
safety, and the National Institute on Aging has identified this
knowledge gap as a key strategic priority. Study researchers say
doctors and families often rely on anecdotal evidence when
encouraging older patients or loved ones to stop or limit driving.
Li says the most critical outcomes of the new study will be
assessments of medication impact on driving safety, and evaluations
of emerging vehicle technologies that benefit older drivers, like
cameras, navigation systems and crash warning signals.
“Seniors need to be protected more in a vehicle,” said Kara Macek of
the Governors Highway Safety Association. “Due to their fragility,
their bodies are not always able to withstand the same amount of
force the older they get.”
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Macek said seniors are not poor drivers, as they are often
represented to be. In many cases, they may even be more cautious as
they make up for other abilities that diminish with age. Teens
remain the most over-represented population in vehicle crashes in
terms of volume, and until now, they have been the AAA Foundation’s
largest investment in research.
Dr. Alice Pomidor, chair of the American Geriatrics Society Public
Education Committee, believes the project will ultimately allow more
aging Americans to remain mobile.
“We want to try to let people drive as long as possible, because
driving is such a critical component to life in the United States,”
Pomidor said. “Getting a car means you have come of age and you are
independent. Asking someone to relinquish that is pretty much asking
someone to relinquish independence. Many see it as the first step in
a long slippery slope to landing in the nursing home.”
Safely staying behind the wheel is often essential to overall
health, she said. When seniors relinquish car keys, they often
become depressed. Nutrition sometimes suffers, as there is no good
way to travel to a grocery store - or to a doctor.
Participants will receive modest compensation for their five-year
commitment and willingness to be tracked on the roads.
“The data collected could be very, very important to senior
participants and relevant to their peers,” Li said. “There’s a
societal benefit to participation in this project.”
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