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Barbara E. K. Klein, MD, MPH

JAMA. 2002;288:885-886.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Older persons are becoming an increasingly larger proportion of drivers than in the past.¹ Although drivers older than 60 years have the lowest crash rates by age for licensed drivers,² many impairments to driving are age related. Driving is a complex activity requiring a high level of motor and sensory integrity. Thus, deficits in mobility, reaction time, hearing, vision, and mentation are likely to influence driving ability, and these are, in general, concomitants of aging. It is likely that older drivers restrict the actual number of miles they drive and the conditions in which they drive, in part related to these relative disabilities. For example, older adults who reported arthritis and cardiovascular disease were more likely to cease night driving 5 years later.³

Some age-related driving impairments may improve with medical treatment. For example, the decrease in visual acuity that accompanies aging can sometimes . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Author Affiliations: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

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