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Driving, an instrumental activity of daily living, requires safe person-environment interactions. The effectiveness (safety) of four United States Federal Highway Administration intersection design guidelines in the recovery phase of a turn was tested on older and younger adults. Using kinematics measures from an instrumented vehicle, drivers negotiating improved and unimproved intersections were examined in Gainesville, Florida. The findings from a 2 x 2 repeated measures ANOVA (within-subject variable = intersection condition: improved versus unimproved; between-subject variable = age: young versus old) yield support for three manoeuvres: extended receiving lane, right-turn channelisation with acceleration lane and left-turn offset, but not for no acute turn angle. One interaction effect (age x intersection) existed and age effects (favouring older drivers) appeared for three manoeuvres, yet showed little practical significance, suggesting that these design guidelines benefit older and younger drivers alike. This study informs occupational therapists that enhancements in the environment have an impact on safer driving, particularly at urban intersections. A replication of the concept of this study, that is, testing intersection design guidelines in the United Kingdom, may generate valuable information on the plausibility of environmental design guidelines and their effects on the driving performance of older and younger adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers are calling for increased studies with regard to differences between older men and women drivers. This literature review focuses on gender comparisons for self-regulation of driving and driving cessation. We reviewed 20 articles and assigned levels of evidence. Seven studies were level II (eg, prospective cohort) and 13 were level III (eg, cross-sectional). Subsequently, 5 evidence-based recommendations were made to address gender-specific needs of older men and women. Additional research is needed to clarify gender patterns for self-regulation and cessation and increase the level of evidence supporting gender-specific driving interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is anticipated that the number of older adults with impairments or limitations will increase from approximately 14 million today to more than 28 million in 2030. The intent of this article is to illustrate the place of public health and population-level data in understanding current and future impacts on rehabilitation practitioners, the services they provide, and the clients they serve. Rehabilitation professionals can use public health data, like the Census and Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, to facilitate data-driven planning. To explain this notion, we introduce basic public health concepts as well as aging and disability-related data examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Older driver safety is a complex phenomenon, extending beyond the person level to multiple system characteristics, such as epidemiologic, environment, and policy. Studying multiple factors in older driver safety requires the use of an integrated socioecological approach. In a cross-sectional design, we used a public health model and the 2003 General Estimates System database to determine main risk factors and their measures of association in the presence or absence of injury among older adults involved in motor vehicle accidents. Compared to the findings of the existing literature, participants demonstrated similar person-level crash-related injury characteristics. However, the socioecological model elucidated the importance of environment-level and vehicle-level factors as significant determinants of older driver safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) proposed highway design guidelines to increase safe driving ability of older drivers, but little empirical evidence exists to support these guidelines. Using kinematics measures from an instrumented vehicle and on-road evaluations, the authors examined the safety effects of improved versus unimproved intersections in older (65-85) and younger (25-45) drivers. Kinematics measures showed that 4 maneuvers had significantly poorer lateral stability for the unimproved conditions, and significantly greater speed for the improved conditions. Behavioral measures showed that drivers had significantly fewer errors for 2 improved left-turn maneuvers, and fewer total errors overall, with older drivers having a higher mean number of errors. These findings suggested that the FHWA guidelines for safe road conditions result in safer driving by older and younger adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Federal Highway Administration proposed guidelines for highway design to increase the safe-driving ability of older drivers; however, little empirical evidence exists to support these guidelines. This study investigated the effects of improved versus unimproved intersections, using a high-fidelity driving simulator. Kinematics measures and behavioral evaluations were obtained to determine whether driving performance during negotiation of improved intersections was safer for older (65-85 years) and younger (25-45) drivers. Five pairs of intersections were compared. Three of the 5 comparisons indicated significantly greater lateral control stability (as measured by maximum yaw rate) during turns at the improved intersections. This preliminary report is based on data from 19 subjects (5 young and 14 older adults). Despite the small sample size, the findings of this study suggest that some of the Federal Highway Administration guidelines for implementing safe road conditions are helpful in defining intersection characteristics that could lead to safer driving by both older and younger adults. These results may yield critical information for engineers, planners, policymakers, and others involved in the design of roadway systems to enhance safe driving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]