Citation

Classen S, Brumback B, Monahan M, Malaty II, Rodriguez RL, Okun MS, McFarland NR. Am. J. Occup. Ther. 2014; 68(1): 77-85.

Affiliation

Nikolaus R. McFarland, MD, PhD, is Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology, University of Florida, Gainesville.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, American Occupational Therapy Association)

DOI

10.5014/ajot.2014.008698

PMID

24367958

Abstract

Age-related medical conditions such as Parkinson's disease (PD) compromise driver fitness. Results from studies are unclear on the specific driving errors that underlie passing or failing an on-road assessment. In this study, we determined the between-group differences and quantified the on-road driving errors that predicted pass or fail on-road outcomes in 101 drivers with PD (mean age = 69.38 ± 7.43) and 138 healthy control (HC) drivers (mean age = 71.76 ± 5.08). Participants with PD had minor differences in demographics and driving habits and history but made more and different driving errors than HC participants. Drivers with PD failed the on-road test to a greater extent than HC drivers (41% vs. 9%), χ²(1) = 35.54, HC N = 138, PD N = 99, p < .001. The driving errors predicting on-road pass or fail outcomes (95% confidence interval, Nagelkerke R² =.771) were made in visual scanning, signaling, vehicle positioning, speeding (mainly underspeeding, t(61) = 7.004, p < .001, and total errors. Although it is difficult to predict on-road outcomes, this study provides a foundation for doing so.

Language: en