Variation in acceleration driving patterns as a measure of older adult health status

The evaluation of older adult in-car driving data and identification of appropriate driving measures could lead to a better understanding of unsafe driving behaviors and associations with older adult health status. In this paper, the coefficient of variation was examined as a measure for identifying differences related to acceleration driving event variability between 12 physically, cognitively, and general health stable older adult drivers and 16 older adult drivers with declining physical, cognitive, or general health status over a one year period. Declining older adult drivers had significantly lower acceleration coefficient of variation than stable drivers for acceleration event subsets with final velocities between 60 and 100 km/hr, changes in velocities between 15 and 30 km/hr and between 60 and 75 km/hr, and changes in heading between 70 and 180 degrees, which may indicate a reduced adaptation of acceleration driving patterns. Further investigation of acceleration coefficient of variation is warranted to determine whether the decreased acceleration variability in declining drivers is due to physical, cognitive, or general health declines, and to determine the accuracy of this measure at identifying older adults with declining health and those with unsafe driving.