Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Volume 81, Issue 6 , Pages 701-705, June 2000

Driving skills in elderly persons with stroke: Comparison of two new assessment options☆☆

University of Toronto (Klavora, Heslegrave), University Health Network (Heslegrave), and Bloorview MacMillan Centre (Young), Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Received 2 June 1999; received in revised form 1 December 1999; accepted 1 December 1999.

Abstract 

Klavora P, Heslegrave RJ, Young M. Driving skills in elderly persons with stroke: comparison of two new assessment options. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2000;81:701-5. Objective: To compare the effectiveness of two methods of assessing off-road driving skills that claim to predict on-road driving fitness of persons with stroke. Method: Fifty-six persons with stroke (age 44 to 82yrs; mean, 60.2yrs) completed the 2 off-road driving assessments along with standard clinical and on-road driving tests. Main Outcome Measures: Linear stepwise regression on 4 variables of the Dynavision Performance Assessment Battery (DPAB), the Cognitive Behavioral Driver's Inventory (CBDI) variable (composite score), and the variables of age, gender, and lesion side. Results: A 4-minute endurance subtest from the DPAB was superior to the CBDI in predicting success/failure in the on-road driving test (75%). However, success on both the 4-minute endurance subtest from the DPAB and the CBDI tests significantly improved the prediction of on-road success. If participants passed the CBDI and the endurance test from the DPAB, they also passed the on-road assessment. Conclusion: Driving fitness of elderly persons with stroke can be assessed with reasonable accuracy using off-road tests, minimizing the expense and risk associated with on-road assessments in this population. © 2000 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Keywords:  Cerebrovascular disorders, Off-road driving assessment, Automobile driving, Dynavision, Rehabilitation

 

 Supported by a grant from the Ministry of Transportation, Ontario (Coordinator of Highway Research Grants Program, grant 9409) to Peter Klavora.

☆☆ No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit upon the authors or upon any organization with which the authors are associated.

 Reprint requests to Peter Klavora, PhD, Faculty of Physical Education and Health, University of Toronto, 55 Harbord Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A1, Canada.

PII: S0003-9993(00)90096-0

doi:10.1016/S0003-9993(00)90096-0

Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Volume 81, Issue 6 , Pages 701-705, June 2000