Evaluation of Screening Tests For Older Drivers

Three new screening tests from North America have recently been developed to assess functionally impaired older drivers, namely DriveABLE, GRIMPS and the CALTEST. This study set out to compare the relative performance of these tests at assessing ?at-risk? older drivers using a number of performance measures. A total of 904 licensed drivers aged 79 years and older were recruited and randomly assigned to one of the three tests. They also completed a questionnaire detailing their demographics, driving patterns, self-perceived health, and recent crash and infringement history. Details were then obtained from LTSA of their recent on-road test performance, medical history, and official crash and infringement record. Administration times and other qualitative data on administration were also examined. Results showed that all three screening tests had a significant association with on-road driving and were generally acceptable from a practical and procedural perspective. Differences were found though in their discrimination ability, sensitivity and specificity. One major limitation with the study was the reliance on on-road test results for judging performance because of the minimal numbers of crash and infringement data available. The study has international importance, both for identifying effective licensing tools as well as for improving the licensing procedure for older drivers generally.