Useful field of view and other neurocognitive indicators of crash risk in older adults

Older adults represent a rapidly growing segment of the driving population. Although most older drivers are safe, research has shown that this group has more crashes per mile driven than most other age groups. The purpose of the present investigation was to examine the utility of a set of commonly used neuropsychological/cognitive tests in comparison to a newer measure of visual attention (Useful Field of View; UFOV (R)) in predicting state-recorded, at-fault crashes over the previous five years in a group of older adult drivers. Participants (N = 239) completed tests of mental status, visual attention memory, and UFOV (R). Results show that among: all cognitive tests administered, UFOV (R) was most strongly related to crash involvement, with high levels of sensitivity (86.3%) and specificity (84.3%) at the standard cutoff score of 40% reduction. Practical implications for the assessment of crash risk are discussed.