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Title:

Characteristics of Drivers with Dementia Referred for a Fitness to Drive Evaluation in Missouri

Accession Number:

01475270

Record Type:

Component

Availability:

Transportation Research Board Business Office

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 United States

Abstract:

This research investigated 4,099 drivers reported to the State of Missouri driver’s licensing authority in the years 2001-2005 as possibly suffering from a dementing illness and requiring a fitness-to-drive evaluation. The research identifies that symptoms possibly linked to a dementing illness, such as confusion, memory loss, getting lost while driving, were frequent primary concerns of reporters. About 40% of those reported had either Alzheimer’s, cognitive impairment, or other brain insult noted in their reports. Of those reported by family members, more than 50% of them do not continue the assessment process and do not submit a physician’s evaluation and thereby forfeit their driver’s license. Of those that do return a physician’s evaluation, in most cases the physician agrees with the family reported diagnosis of a dementing illness, especially for Alzheimer’s where the agreement is 100%, but least for cognitive impairment where the agreement is 75%. Of those reported with a dementing illness, most are not required to complete a driver’s license examination and most lose their licenses based on the physician evaluation alone, although those reported by physicians are slightly more likely to be required to take such tests. Of those with a dementing illness, about 98% lose their driver’s license due to the report. Interestingly, crash history is generally less frequently a motivator for reports of those with a dementing illness than for those reported without cognitive impairment concerns.

Supplemental Notes:

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ANB60 Safe Mobility of Older Persons.

Monograph Accession #:

01470560

Report/Paper Numbers:

13-1690

Language:

English

Corporate Authors:

Transportation Research Board

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 United States

Authors:

Unger, Elizabeth A
Ulfarsson, Gudmundur F
Meuser, Thomas M
Carr, David B

Pagination:

16p

Publication Date:

2013

Conference:

Transportation Research Board 92nd Annual Meeting

Location: Washington DC, United States
Date: 2013-1-13 to 2013-1-17
Sponsors: Transportation Research Board

Media Type:

Digital/other

Features:

Figures; References; Tables

Geographic Terms:

Missouri

Subject Areas:

Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor

Source Data:

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2013 Paper #13-1690

Files:

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Created Date:

Feb 5 2013 12:25PM