Health Status and Activity Discomfort among Elderly Drivers: Reality of Health Awareness

Abstract

As the number of elderly drivers rapidly increases worldwide, interest in the dangers of driving is growing as accidents rise. The purpose of this study was to conduct a statistical analysis of the driving risk factors of elderly drivers. In this analysis, data from the government organization’s open data were used for the secondary processing of 10,097 people. Of the 9990 respondents, 2168 were current drivers, 1552 were past drivers but were not driving presently, and 6270 did not have a driver’s license; the participants were divided into groups accordingly. The elderly drivers who were current drivers had a better subjective health status than those who were not. Visual and hearing aids were used in the current driving group, and their depression symptoms reduced as they drove. The elderly who were current drivers experienced difficulties while driving in terms of decreased vision, hearing loss, reduced arm/leg reaction speed, decreased judgment of the road conditions such as signals and intersections, and a decreased sense of speed. The results suggest that elderly drivers are unaware of the medical conditions that can negatively affect their driving. This study contributes to the safety management of elderly drivers by understanding their mental and physical status.