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New Self-Assessment Tool Helps Senior Drivers Stay Safe

Did you know?

AAA Roadwise Review^TM is an easy-to-use tool allowing self-assessment at your own home computer.

AAA Roadwise Review^TM is available to Auto Club members at an Auto Club office near you for only $5 (nonmembers pay $7).

Review the technical FAQ if you have questions about installing the software.

A general FAQ answers general questions about senior mobility.

The Auto Club offers a safe driving class for mature drivers.

Q. What is Roadwise Review?
A. Roadwise Review is a tool that enables older drivers to identify and address physiological changes which could affect driving. This program is a scientifically validated screening tool developed by AAA, the Auto Club and noted safety researchers, which helps seniors drive safely longer by letting users screen for their driving health just as they screen for their medical health.

Q. Why has AAA created Roadwise Review?
A. Roadwise Review was created as part of AAA's Lifelong Safe Mobility campaign. By 2030, one in five people will be 65 or older. In response to the changing demographics, AAA launched the Lifelong Safe Mobility initiative and the Auto Club is working to help seniors stay both safe and mobile. Working with the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, as well as aging and transportation organizations, we promote solutions such as senior-friendly road design, screening tools, education for seniors and their families and supplemental transportation.

Q. Will Roadwise Review decrease the number of senior drivers on the road?
A. The Auto Club opposes the use of chronological age alone as the sole criterion for driver competence. Roadwise Review is designed to inform users of potential problems, but can also instill confidence in those without a reduction in abilities. Roadwise Review provides recommendations to help seniors correct for their losses and continue to drive safely longer.

Q. Who will have access to Roadwise Review user results?
A. Roadwise Review is designed to be used in the privacy of your own home. Once you have completed all eight of the screening measures, you will have an opportunity to print or save your results. If you quit the program without printing or saving your results they will be lost. You may choose to share your results with a friend, family member or physician, but ultimately you have complete control over who is privy to your results.

Q. Where is Roadwise Review available? Where can those interested get a copy of the program?
A. Roadwise Review will be available at Auto Club offices beginning January 12. Members pay only $5; $7 for nonmembers. Copies of Roadwise Review will be provided to city and county libraries and senior centers free of charge. A list of locations will be provided from this page when that information becomes available.

Q. What should drivers do if the Roadwise Review program tells them that they are at risk?
A. Roadwise Review provides recommendations for drivers who have measurable losses in safe driving ability. Although the tests in this program have been scientifically validated against thousands of other seniors' results, each individual is unique. Depending on the measure and the level of impairment, a user may be referred to a physician, Occupational Therapist, or a Certified Driving Rehabilitation Specialist. For instance, poor results on a vision test might suggest visiting an optometrist. If a user does not have a measurable loss in a safe driving ability, he or she will be asked to use their results as a baseline against which they can measure future changes in driving health.

Q. How often should I complete Roadwise Review?
A. For the best results, Roadwise Review should be completed once or twice a year to help you notice slight changes in your safe driving abilities. Remember that a mild impairment, detected early, can often be remediated. This will help keep you driving safely longer.

Q. Why is Roadwise Review for seniors only?
A. Older drivers are experts in knowing how to drive safely. As we age, though, we begin to lose some of the visual, mental and physical abilities that make it possible to handle the demands of everyday driving. Since the screening program is focused on these abilities, Roadwise Review will be of greatest value for seniors. However, if a young driver has experienced a measurable loss, RWR will indicate the severity of that loss and make appropriate recommendations.

Q. How do these tests correlate to driving?
A. It is important to note that Roadwise Review does not measure driving skills, it measures safe driving abilities. Many situations in everyday driving demand good vision, clear thinking, and a degree of physical strength and flexibility, to safely control our vehicles. Scientific research shows that a serious loss in any one of the abilities screened by this program can significantly increase your crash risk. Roadwise Review includes examples of common driving situations where specific impairments can cause safety problems.

Q. Who should a senior contact if they have questions about their ability to drive?
A. The decision to drive or not to drive for a senior will often involve many people. It may be necessary to discuss the issue with the spouse, other family members, and health care professionals such as a doctor or driver rehabilitation specialists, in order to determine whether it is time to find other forms of transportation. A health care professional, depending on the state, may also refer the case to the state's Medical Advisory Board to determine under which conditions it is safe to drive, or whether it is safe to drive at all.

Q. Where could I find a Certified Driver Rehabilitation specialist that could give me an in-person evaluation of my driving?
A. To find a Certified Driver Rehabilitation Specialist in your area, visit the membership directory on www.aded.net. CDRSs are listed by state. You can also visit www.aota.org/olderdriver to learn more about the occupational therapist profession as it relates to older drivers.

Q. What options are available to seniors when it is no longer safe for them to drive?
A. When it is no longer safe for a senior to drive, AAA recommends the use of supplemental transportation programs (STPs) for seniors. STPs are community-based transportation programs that complement or supplement existing transportation services and thus enable seniors to get where they need to go. STPs are important to senior mobility because they provide services that seniors need and which public transit systems and paratransit are not able to provide. They are organized to meet those needs through trip chaining, transportation escorts, door-through-door service and numerous other means of personal support. See the AAA Foundation website www.seniordrivers.org for more information.

Q. Should mature drivers take a driver improvement course?
A. Driver improvement courses can help mature drivers be even safer drivers. By addressing issues faced by today's mature drivers, such as the weakening of eyesight and increased reaction time, safe driving skills can be enhanced, adding additional protection to all occupants.

In addition, many states provide for automobile insurance discounts to drivers age 55 or older for completing a driver improvement course.

Q. Has AAA made a recent effort to help improve and/or increase senior mobility?
A. AAA continues to explore options that will help keep seniors mobile for as long as safely possible. Roadwise Review, a computer-based screening tool that allows seniors to test functional abilities related to driving, was designed to be used in the privacy of one's own home. The tool has been designed to inform users of potential problems, but can also instill confidence in those without a reduction in abilities. AAA is also collaborating with the American Society on Aging, AARP and the American Occupational Therapists Association to release a new educational program designed to help seniors learn how to adjust their car to accommodate their needs as they age. Finally, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety has completed another project looking at supplemental transportation as a means to aid seniors when they are no longer able to drive.

Q. What is AAA's ultimate goal for senior mobility?
A. AAA is dedicated to keeping senior road-users driving as long as safely possible. When it is not possible for seniors to drive, AAA is also committed to promoting viable transportation options for seniors such as supplemental transportation programs. See the AAA Foundation website www.seniordrivers.org for more information.