Study to help identify high-risk aging drivers
IAN WILLMS/TORONTO STAR
At 79, Richard Wilson says he’s a more careful driver today than in his younger days. The retired Toronto physician has volunteered for a Candrive study to help determine which older drivers are safe and unsafe behind the wheel.
Richard Wilson was once caught speeding on the 401 in his Porsche 911, but the officer didn't appear for his trial; his driving record remained unblemished.
Now 79, he drives a 2008 Toyota Matrix and at a pace that has seriously reduced his risk of getting a speeding ticket.
"I've been told that I drive more slowly than I used to," says Wilson, who lives in Toronto.
"I have a sense that I'm more careful than I was 50 years ago when I was in my 20s and 30s. I'm more aware of the accidents I could cause."
He's also less willing to drive if it's raining or foggy at night. But he knows how important driving is for most seniors.
"Automobiles, to older people like me, are very important to your life. It gives me the freedom to do what I want to do when I want to do it."
But as a retired physician, he realizes that there are medical conditions related to aging that can interfere with the safe operation of a vehicle.
"I know a lady who's 91 and who has severe osteoarthritis and osteoporosis and she drives. I feel she shouldn't drive but her doctor has given her the green light and doctors often don't take these people off the road."
That's why Wilson has volunteered to participate in a national study whose goal is the development of a diagnostic tool that doctors can use to assess the safety and capability of senior drivers.
"We are hoping for 125 senior drivers, over the age of 70, who own their own car and are active drivers," says Dr. Gary Naglie, staff geriatrician and researcher at University Health Network and Toronto Rehabilitation Institute. Naglie will help supervise the Toronto portion of the study.
A total of 1,000 senior drivers from eight Canadian cities will be enrolled in the five-year study conducted by Canadian Driving Research Initiative for Vehicular Safety in the Elderly (Candrive). The study is being funded by The Canadian Institutes of Health Research, a branch of the federal government.
A comprehensive assessment of each volunteer will be made, looking at physical, behavioural and mental factors often associated with crashes. This will be done each year of the study.
There will also be quarterly check-in sessions in which information gathered by a computer chip placed in a participant's car will be downloaded. This will allow the researchers to gauge the amount and type of driving the senior is doing. If the participant ends up in an accident, the total assessment profile will be looked at in terms of isolating the most important predictors of that accident.
"The main objective is to ultimately develop a screening tool that will aid physicians and other clinicians in helping them determine who amongst older drivers are safe and unsafe to drive," explains Naglie.
"We did a survey of Canadian physicians and one of the things they told us is they often feel uncomfortable trying to assess their patients' safety to drive because they don't have the tools," he says.
Right now, doctors can refer their patients to testing centres for assessment but they cost upward of $400 and are not covered by OHIP. The goal of the Candrive study is to develop an assessment tool that can be used right in the doctor's office and that the doctor and patient will feel comfortable using within the standard appointment time.
"We're anticipating that the vast majority of seniors will be found safe to drive," said Dr. Mark Rapoport, a geriatric psychiatrist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and co-supervisor of the Toronto study. "In the absence of a diagnostic tool, doctors may be at risk of over-reporting conditions such as cognitive conditions."
Wilson keeps his own cognitive skills sharp by reading medical textbooks. But he realizes there have been some changes and that's why he drives the more sedate Toyota rather than the racy Porsche.
"My vision is not what it was 30 years ago," Wilson says. "And I have more difficulty turning my head around and leaning over the back seat to pick up something off the floor. I have had the conversation with my son and my partner that if they believe I'm becoming a danger to my grandchildren, themselves or to myself, then to take the car keys away."
But he hopes to keep driving for as long as possible and that the study will help him do that by preparing the way for "many older people to drive for longer periods of times safely, (while at the same time) getting individuals who are unfortunately dangerous to themselves and others off the road."
For those wishing to participate in the Toronto portion of the study, call Novlette Fraser at 1-866-233-1133. For more info: candrive.ca
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