Traffic injury prevention
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Traffic injury prevention · Aug 2008
ReviewUsefulness of off-road screening tests to licensing authorities when assessing older driver fitness to drive.
There is a growing interest in quick and convenient, off-road tests of fitness to drive to assist licensing authorities in identifying the minority of older drivers at heightened crash risk. Two screening tests have been identified and assessed for their usefulness in a licensing context. ⋯ At this time, no off-road screening test of fitness to drive currently can be justified if applied on a simple pass/fail basis to all drivers reaching a threshold age, as the sole determinant of licensing status.
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Traffic injury prevention · Aug 2008
Review Comparative StudyThe licensing of older drivers in Europe--a case study.
European countries practice a wide range of car driving license renewal procedures. These range from issuing lifelong licenses without subsequent medical checks, to issuing a license to age 70 and for 3- or 5-year periods thereafter based on self-declarations of medical fitness, to requiring medical examinations for renewal, to renewal every 5 years from the age of 45. This paper presents a case study of the different older driver licensing procedures in seven European countries and addresses the association between these procedures and older driver safety. ⋯ There is also evidence that stringent renewal procedures and demanding medical examinations at renewal reduce the level of car driving licenses among older people. France, The Netherlands, and the United Kingdom have the highest level of driving license holding by people aged 65+, which has direct implications for the independent mobility of older people. Reduced mobility also has safety implications: in about half the European countries for which road accident fatality data have been analyzed, people aged 65+ are at greater risk of death as a pedestrian than as a car driver.
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Traffic injury prevention · Mar 2008
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyThe combination of two training approaches to improve older adults' driving safety.
An increasing number of older adults rely on the automobile for transportation. Educational approaches based on the specific needs of older drivers may help to optimize safe driving. We examined if the combination of an in-class education program with on-road education would lead to improvements in older drivers' knowledge of safe driving practices and on-road driving evaluations. ⋯ The results of this study demonstrate that education programs focused on the needs of older drivers may help improve their knowledge of safe driving practices and actual driving performance. Further research is required to determine if these changes will affect other variables such as driver confidence and crash rates.
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Use of a cellular phone has been shown to negatively affect one's attention to the driving task, leading to an increase in crash risk. At any given daylight hour, about 6% of US drivers are actively talking on a hand-held cell phone. However, previous surveys have focused only on cell phone use during the day. Driving at night has been shown to be a riskier activity than driving during the day. The purpose of the current study was to assess the rate of hand-held cellular phone use while driving at night, using specialized night vision equipment. ⋯ The high level of cellular phone use found within the young age group, coupled with the increased crash risk associated with cellular phone use, nighttime driving, and for young drivers in general, suggests that this issue may become an important transportation-related concern.
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Traffic injury prevention · Sep 2007
Multicenter StudyGeneral health status and functional disability following injury in traffic crashes.
With increasing rates of survival associated with traffic crashes, a shift to understand the consequences of injury has risen to prominence. This prospective cohort study set out to examine general health status and functional disability at 2 months and 6-8 months post-crash. ⋯ This study demonstrated significant, ongoing loss of health-related quality of life and impairment associated with injuries sustained in road crashes, highlighting the need for continuing care post-discharge to facilitate a rapid return to optimal health.