For Immediate Release
Contact: Abena Foreman-Trice
(434) 243-2734

VIRGINIA DRIVING SAFETY LABORATORY READY TO ASSESS DRIVERS

According to the Insurance Information Institute, drivers older than 55 years of age are less likely to speed or drive aggressively. However, the institute also notes that senior drivers are more likely to have impaired hearing, slower reflexes and take more prescription medications that can alter perception. In order to make sure that older drivers are safe when taking to the road, the University of Virginia Health System has opened a new Driving Safety Laboratory where patients can receive comprehensive assessments of their driving abilities. 

"Just like a Stress Test that tells you how healthy your heart is, the Virginia Driving Safety Lab can tell you how healthy your driving abilities are,” said Daniel Cox, Ph.D. assistant professor of Behavioral Medicine in the Psychiatric Medicine Department and director of the Virginia Driving Safety Lab. It will help identify drivers’ strengths and weakness, and how they could possibly compensate for any weaknesses."

The evaluation takes approximately two hours. It includes tests for vision, driving knowledge, neuropsychological, and driving simulator testing.  A licensed clinical psychologist or neuropsychologist evaluates the patient’s performance. Patients and family members receive both written and verbal reports including comparisons to normative data and to cut-off thresholds developed by the DMV.  Where correction is possible, patients receive “compensatory strategies” to improve driving performance. These include:

  • Avoid driving on unfamiliar roads where you have to continually search for unanticipated stop signals and road signs.
  • Avoid heavy traffic, where you have to continually keep track of other vehicles.
  • Avoid driving on roads with high speed limits, where your tendency to drive slow puts you at risk of being hit and where your slowed reaction time makes it more difficult for you to respond in a timely fashion.
  • While driving on multi-lane roads or whenever coming to an intersection, frequently rotate your head from side to side to see thing that are on your side, since your peripheral vision is not likely to pick up these things.
  • Avoid passing cars and keep extra distance between you and lead traffic, because your difficulty with depth perception may cause you problems.
  • Consider a thorough eye exam with your doctor, where new prescriptions may improve your corrected visual acuity and depth perception.
  • Consider repeating this evaluation in 12 months.
  • Spend time preparing for the drive, thinking about what roads to take.
  • Do not use cell phones or get distracted by conversations with passengers
  • Do not drive at night or at dusk
  • This driving evaluation can be repeated if you think your driving performance has either significantly improved or worsened.

The facility is ideal for those who are concerned about elderly parent or for physicians who are not quite sure whether their patient is an impaired driver. It is also intended for sufferers of stroke or progressive dementia, who want to determine their safety behind the wheel.

Reports are not sent to the DMV, unless requested by the patient.  This service costs $300. For referrals or inquiries, call 924-5913 or e-mail cem9c@virginial.edu. To produce a story on the Driving Safety Lab, contact Abena Foreman-Trice in the Public Relations Office at (434) 243-2734.

 

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November 22, 2004