Driving safely is no accident
Resources for medical providers.
We will continue to update these resources periodically. Please check back for updates.
What is the driving evaluation?
Our evaluator controls: brake and accelerator
For a driving evaluation, we complete both a clinical and on-road driving evaluation. If you have concerns about a client and want more information, please reach out to us. Another great reference to share with clients about this general process comes from The Hartford. They offer paper booklets that can be ordered free-of-charge or free online downloadable booklets to share with your clients including some that focus on dementia and driving, vehicle safety technology, and what to expect from a driving evaluation.
Sometimes as part of our own driving evaluation, there might be a recommendation for continued training, adaptive equipment, or driving retirement. You can help your client by having conversations about driving every time you see them. Driving retirement shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone and we notice clients tend to get defensive when driving habits are discussed as that is not a typical medical conversation in our society.
General older adult concerns
Geriatricscareonline.org is a website from the American Geriatrics Society which has some access to helpful resources including virtual case studies of older adults and driving concerns/situations, as well as free access to The Clinician’s Guide to Assessing and Counseling Older Drivers, 4th Edition.
Healthinaging.com is another website with content from the American Geriatrics Society with a great, free, interactive Driving Safety Questionnaire which can provide recommendations to patients or familiar for how to follow up on concerns. There is also links to statistics regarding crash risk with older drivers, and tips for how to develop a safe transportation plan.
AARP sponsors an additional Driver Safety training program that traditionally was completed in a classroom but can also be completed online. It has a small fee and provides helpful tips and strategies for improving driving safety. It is available here.
There are other older adults who drive but maybe have challenges based on their understanding of the vehicle technology or do not “fit” well in their vehicle. This need helped create the CarFit program from AAA, AARP, and AOTA. The CarFit program offers training days/times in the community to bring in your car and have it “fit” to you. This might include recommendations on distance to the steering wheel, line of sight, positioning of the seat, etc. You can find a schedule of CarFit events here. The options for in-person events has been reduced since the COVID-19 pandemic and there are some virtual educational trainings available as well at www.car-fit.org
Want some additional training?
We are happy to provide more information about our role in driving rehabilitation for clients with neurologic impairments to either physician clinics or therapy clinics, throughout the state of Oregon. We can do this in-person or virtually. If you are a therapy practitioner and interested in how to work with us or how we can help support your patients, we are happy to talk to you! There are additional great resources available through the Association for Driver Rehabilitation Specialists (ADED) or the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) including the Spectrum of Driver Services white paper. Another helpful reference to get the conversation about driving safety started with a client is the Driving Decisions Workbook. This workbook was the result of a partnership of General Motors, University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute, and the US Department of Transportation.