Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Background: Health-related issues due to aging and medical conditions have been linked to unsafe driving habits in older adulthood. Drivers aged 70 and older are at a higher risk of being involved in at-fault collisions. However, driving is the most common way older adults get to the places they need to go. Being able to drive is important to their participation in activities outside of their home. Losing the ability to drive can impact overall health, quality of life, and social engagement. These impacts can also cause stress in family, friends, and health providers. Older drivers also experience changes in their comfort and confidence while driving. Losing the ability to drive or being involved in a preventable collision can have major health and social implications for older Canadians. Methods: The Canadian Driving Research Initiative for Vehicular Safety in the Elderly (Candrive) study tracked the health and driving behaviours of 928 Canadians aged 70 years and older for six years. Data from Candrive was analyzed to investigate linkages between age, gender and other characteristics with how far and often older people drive and their comfort level behind-the-wheel in various driving situations. Implications: This analysis provides one of the most in-depth and up-to-date profiles of older male and female drivers in Canada. From this presentation, researchers and clinicians will have a better understanding of how driving comfort changes in later life, and which demographic characteristics might predict such changes. Key information will be used to inform a driver retraining intervention that aims to keep older adults driving for as long as they are safe to do so. Given Canada's aging population, results from this study set the stage for implementing a unique approach to reducing preventable collisions and testing its effectiveness as part of initiatives that keep older drivers and others safe on our roadways.