The DRIVINGHEALTH INVENTORY An overview

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White House Conference on Aging Policy
Committee Listening Session Transportation
January 8, 2004 Screening and Assessment
for Driver Licensure
presented by
Loren Staplin, Ph.D.
TransAnalytics,
LLC
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White House Conference on Aging Listening
Session Transportation
BACKGROUND As the number and proportion of
older persons in the U.S. surges in the decades
ahead, the inevitability of age-related losses in
visual, physical, and cognitive abilities needed
to drive safely will demand more effective
countermeasures to avoid a crisis in personal and
public safety. The frequency of crashes due to
age-related impairments will rise one
HHS/NHTSA-sponsored study projects fatalities of
gt20,000/year by 2030. U.S. economic costs for
each fatal crash average 997,000 for each
critically injured crash survivor the cost is
1.1 million (in 2000 dollars). While current
policy favors infrastructure solutions, this will
become increasingly costly and/or will be
insufficient to mitigate crash problems it also
implies that responsibility rests exclusively
with government. Screening is distinguished
from assessment and, skills from abilities.
TransAnalytics, LLC
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White House Conference on Aging Listening
Session Transportation
IMPORTANT RECENT DEVELOPMENTS Research
sponsored by NHTSA and NIA has isolated a few
functional abilities that are the best predictors
of (at-fault) crash risk for seniors.
Practical, reliable, standardized test procedures
to screen drivers on the key crash predictors
have been developed and are currently in use.
Preliminary analyses of a motor vehicle
administrations experience with functional
capacity screening indicate that it is both
feasible to administer and can be implemented
cost effectively. for a referral pop. The
AMA has endorsed the evaluation of older
patients fitness to drive as an ethical
responsibility of physicians, and has issued
guidelines to assist them. Advocacy groups for
seniors, and older persons themselves, express a
growing acceptance of steps to ensure driving
health/fitness.
TransAnalytics, LLC
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White House Conference on Aging Listening
Session Transportation
POLICY INITIATIVES AND ANTICIPATED BENEFITS ?
By promoting fitness-to-drive screening for
license renewal that is ? perceived by the
public to be fair (not age biased)
? reasonably
quick and convenient in its application and
? cost-effective to implement, either by
licensing authorities or credentialed private
sector entities, depending on jurisdiction ?
The following benefits are projected Injury
prevention for the great majority of seniors, due
to early warning of (mildly) impairing
conditions that can be addressed through adaptive
and/or remedial activities that actually extend
the safe driving years. Many fewer drivers
with profound functional losses on public roads
and highways making future Santa Monicas much
less likely. A net cost savings to society, if
even 10 of fatal and/or serious injury crashes
caused by functionally impaired drivers are
prevented.
TransAnalytics, LLC