Driving and Other Important Activities in Older Adulthood

Driving is a key indicator of independence in many developed countries. Indeed, among the many families I have worked with in my community engagement and education efforts, questions about how to approach a “conversation” with a relative with memory loss to stop driving are among the most common I receive. As giving up driving is often a key indicator to older adults that their independence is diminishing, many older persons hold on fiercely to their right to drive. Although media coverage may imply that older drivers are a risk to others, available evidence suggests that older adults pose far less of a risk to other drivers or pedestrians than drivers under the age of 25 (although drivers 80 years of age and over appear to be more vulnerable to fatal injuries when experiencing a car crash; see Langford, Bohensky, Koppel, & Newstead, 2008; Loughran, Seabury, & Zakaras, 2007; Tefft, 2008). As driving and many other activities are central not only to older persons’ independence but also their identity, past issues of the Journal of Applied Gerontology have featured a number of studies on these topics, and this one offers new contributions. Chapman, Sargent-Cox, Horswill, and Anstey (2016) studied the effects of age-stereotype threats on older adults’ perceptions of hazards while driving. The sample was first exposed to either a negative or positive age stereotype; participants then completed a timed hazard perception task and a questionnaire. Negative age stereotypes were associated with reduced post-driving confidence. Chapman and colleagues conclude that these results may potentially result in subsequent driving cessation decisions. Ackerman, Vance, and Ball (2016) examined driving self-regulation and, specifically, whether the provision of feedback about cognitive abilities would impact older adults’ driving behavior. In their sample, participants above the age of 80 who received negative feedback were more likely to avoid subsequent challenging driving conditions, as did participants with no eye conditions. This work builds on the authors’ prior research to examine how the provision of feedback regarding older adults’ cognitive abilities can help them make better driving decisions. Allan, Coxon, Bundy, Peattie, and Keay (2016) compared two established assessments of driving ability, DriveSafe and DriveAware, in 380 individuals above the age of 75 in Australia. 647560 JAGXXX10.1177/0733464816647560Journal of Applied GerontologyGaugler editorial2016