Self-rated confidence and on-road driving performance among older adults

Abstract

French

Background.

Driver confidence can be measured through concepts such as driving frequency, situational avoidance, and self-perceptions. However, it is not clear how well confidence aligns with actual driving performance.

Purpose.

We examined the relationship between subjective measures of confidence in driving ability and on-road performance.

Method.

We report findings from two studies. The first compared scores from the Older and Wiser Driver Questionnaire to an on-road driving evaluation. The second looked at the Day and Night Driving Comfort Scales and Driving Habits and Intentions Questionnaire in relation to an on-road driving evaluation.

Findings.

No measures of confidence in driving ability were related to on-road driving performance.

Implications.

Confidence in driving ability bears little relationship to on-road performance. Future research should examine approaches to foster a better match between self-assessments and actual abilities among drivers.

Keywords

Automobile driving Community-dwelling older drivers On-road testing Self-efficacy Self-report Autoefficacité Autoévaluation Conduite automobile Conducteurs âgés vivant dans la collectivité Épreuve de conduite sur route

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Adler

Rottunda

Dysken

(2005). The older driver with dementia: An updated literature review. Journal of Safety Research, 36, 399–407. doi:10.1016/j.jsr.2005.07.005

Anstey

K. J.

Wood

Lord

Walker

J. G.

(2005). Cognitive, sensory and physical factors enabling driving safety in older adults. Clinical Psychology Review, 25, 45–65. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2004.07.008

Baldock

M. R.

Mathias

J. L.

McLean

A. J.

Berndt

(2006). Self-regulation of driving and its relationship to driving ability among older adults. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 38, 1038–1045. doi:10.1016/j.aap.2006.04.016

Bandura

(1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84, 191–215.

Bédard

Porter

M. M.

Marshall

Isherwood

Riendeau

Weaver

… Miller-Polgar

(2008). The combination of two training approaches to improve older adults’ driving safety. Traffic Injury Prevention, 9, 70–76. doi:10.1080/15389580701670705

Bédard

Riendeau

Weaver

Clarkson

(2011). Roadwise review has limited congruence with actual driving performance of aging drivers. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 43, 2209–2214. doi:10.1016/j.aap.2011.05.025

Blanchard

R. A.

Myers

A. M.

(2010). Examination of driving comfort and self-regulatory practices in older adults using in-vehicle devices to assess natural driving patterns. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 42, 1213–1219. doi:10.1016/j.aap.2010.01.013

Charlton

J. L.

Oxley

Fildes

Oxley

Newstead

Koppel

O’Hare

(2006). Characteristics of older drivers who adopt self-regulatory driving behaviours. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 9, 363–373. doi:10.1016/j.trf.2006.06.006

Classen

Wang

Winter

S. M.

Velozo

C. A.

Landord

D. N.

Bédard

(2013). Concurrent criterion validity of the Safe Driving Behaviour Measure: A predictor of on-road driving outcomes. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 67, 108–116. doi:10.5014/ajot.2013.005116

10.

Dalchow

J. L.

Niewoehner

P. M.

Henderson

R. R.

Carr

D. B.

(2010). Test acceptability and confidence levels in older adults referred for fitness-to-drive evaluations. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 64, 252–258. doi:10.5014/ajot.64.2.252

11.

Donorfio

L. K.

D’Ambrosio

L. A.

Coughlin

J. F.

Mohyde

(2008). Health, safety, self-regulation and the older driver: It’s not just a matter of age. Journal of Safety Research, 39, 555–561. doi:10.1016/j.jsr.2008.09.003

12.

Duckworth

M. P.

Iezzi

O’Donohue

(2008). Motor vehicle collisions: Medical, psychosocial, and legal consequences. New York, NY: Academic Press.

13.

Eby

D. W.

Molnar

L. J.

Shope

J. T.

Vivoda

J. M.

Fordyce

T. A.

(2003). Improving older driver knowledge and self-awareness through self-assessment: The driving decisions workbook. Journal of Safety Research, 34, 371–381. doi:10.1016/j.jsr.2003.09.006

14.

Eby

D. W.

Molnar

L. J.

(2009). Older adult safety and mobility: Issues and research needs. Public Works Management & Policy, 13, 288–300. doi:10.1177/1087724X09334494

15.

Freund

Colgrove

L. A.

Burke

B. L.

McLeod

(2005). Self-rated driving performance among elderly drivers referred for driving evaluation. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 37, 613–618. doi:10.1016/j.aap.2005.03.002

16.

Holland

C. A.

(1993). Self-bias in older drivers’ judgments of accident likelihood. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 25, 431–441. doi:10.1016/0001-4575(93)90072-5

17.

Hoorens

(1993). Self-enhancement and superiority biases in social comparison. European Review of Social Psychology, 4, 113–139. doi:10.1080/14792779343000040

18.

Kostyniuk

L. P.

Molnar

L. J.

(2008). Self-regulatory driving practices among older adults: Health, age and sex effects. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 40, 1576–1580. doi:10.1016/j.aap.2008.04.005

19.

Kowalski

Love

Tuokko

MacDonald

Hultsch

Strauss

(2012). The influence of cognitive impairment with no dementia on driving restriction and cessation in older adults. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 49, 308–315. doi:10.1016/j.aap.2011.11.011

20.

Lindstrom-Forneri

Tuokko

H.A.

Garrett

Molnar

(2010). Driving as an everyday competence: A model of driving competence and behavior. Clinical Gerontologist, 33, 283–297. doi:10.1080/07317115.2010.502106

21.

Marottoli

R. A.

Richardson

E. D.

(1998). Confidence in, and self-rating of, driving ability among older drivers. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 30, 331–336. doi:10.1016/S0001-4575(97)00100-0

22.

McCormick

I. A.

Walkey

F. H.

Green

D. E.

(1986). Comparative perceptions of driver ability - A confirmation and expansion. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 18, 205–208. doi:10.1016/0001-4575(86)90004-7

23.

McGee

Tuokko

(2003). The older and wiser driver: A self-assessment program. Victoria, BC: Capital Regional District Traffic Safety Commission.

24.

Michon

J. A.

(1979). Dealing with danger: Summary report of a workshop in the Traffic Research Centre. Groningen, Netherlands: Traffic Research Centre, University of Groningen.

25.

Molloy

D. W.

Alemayehu

Roberts

(1991). Reliability of a standardized Mini-Mental State Examination compared with the traditional Mini-Mental State Examination. American Journal of Psychiatry, 148, 102–105.

26.

Molnar

L. J.

Eby

D. W.

(2008). The relationship between self-regulation and driving-related abilities in older drivers: An exploratory study. Traffic Injury Prevention, 9, 314–319. doi:10.1080/15389580801895319

27.

Myers

A. M.

Paradis

J. A.

Blanchard

R. A.

(2008). Conceptualizing and measuring confidence in older drivers: Development of the day and night driving comfort scales. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 89, 630–640. doi:10.1016/j.apmr.2007.09.037

28.

Owsley

Stalvey

B. T.

Phillips

J. M.

(2003). The efficacy of an educational intervention in promoting self-regulation among high-risk older drivers. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 35, 393–400. doi:10.1016/S0001-4575(02)00016-7

29.

Paradis

J. A.

(2006). Conceptualizing and measuring driving confidence in older drivers (Unpublished master’s thesis). University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada.

30.

Parker

MacDonald

Sutcliffe

Rabbitt

(2001). Confidence and the older driver. Ageing & Society, 21, 169–182. doi:10.1017/S0144686X01008133

31.

Porter

M. M.

Tuokko

H. A.

(2011). An evaluation of the Roadwise Review: A mixed methods approach. Traffic Injury Prevention, 12, 451–458. doi:10.1080/15389588.2011.601371

32.

Svenson

(1981). Are we all less risky and more skillful than our fellow drivers? Acta Psychologica, 47, 143–148. doi:10.1016/0001-6918(81)90005-6

33.

Tuokko

H. A.

McGee

P. D.

Rhodes

R. E.

(2006). Decisional balance and readiness to change driving behavior in older adults: A pilot study. Physical & Occupational Therapy in Geriatrics, 24(3), 1–12. doi:10.1300/J148v24n03_01

34.

Weaver

Koopman

(2014). An SPSS macro to compute confidence intervals for Pearson’s correlation. Quantitative Methods for Psychology, 10, 29–39.

35.

Wood

J. M.

Lacherez

P. F.

Anstey

K. J.

(2013). Not all older adults have insight into their driving abilities: Evidence from an on-road assessment and implications for policy. Journals of Gerontology. Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 68, 559–566. doi:10.1093/gerona/gls150

36.

Wong

I. Y.

Smith

S. S.

Sullivan

K. A.

Allan

A. C.

(2016). Toward the multilevel older person’s transportation and road safety model: A new perspective on the role of demographic, functional and psychosocial factors. Journals of Gerontology. Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 71, 71–86. doi:10.1093/geronb/gbu099