Cognitive screening of older drivers does not produce safety benefits
Cognitive screening of older drivers does not produce safety benefits
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DOI：
10.1016/j.aap.2011.09.032
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发表时间：
2012-03-01
影响因子：
5.9
通讯作者：
Meng, Annette
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Siren, Anu;Meng, Annette
尽管许多国家广泛采用基于实际年龄的老年驾驶员筛查政策，但先前的研究表明，年龄的增加不会导致更高的撞车率，因此，实际年龄本身充其量只是安全驾驶性能的一个弱预测因素。以前的研究，以年龄为基础的强制性筛选老年司机一直未能证明任何安全效益筛选measurements.The本研究是一个基于人口的安全效果的评估，引入认知测试作为一个以年龄为基础的筛选工具已经在丹麦。使用的主要数据来自丹麦道路事故登记册。本研究比较了实施认知障碍筛查前后的致命事故数量，主要有两个发现。首先，在实施筛查程序之前和之后，涉及致命事故的年长司机数量在统计上没有显著差异，表明筛查对年长司机的安全没有影响。第二，在两个观察期之间，未受保护的老年（而非年轻）道路使用者死亡人数显著增加，这表明筛查过程导致老年人从驾车转向不受保护、安全程度低得多的交通方式。因此，这一群体的死亡人数增加了。老年司机筛查是一个政治措施的例子，直觉上是有道理的，但未能产生预期的好处。相反，在系统层面上，它降低了整体安全性，并与各种直接和间接成本有关。(C)2011爱思唯尔有限公司保留所有权利。
Although screening policies for older drivers based on chronological age are widely used in many countries, previous research has shown that increasing age does not cause higher crash rates and that consequently, chronological age per se is at best only a weak predictor of safe driving performance. Previous research on age-based mandatory screening of older drivers has not been able to demonstrate any safety benefits from screening measures.The present study is a population-based evaluation of the safety effects that the introduction of the cognitive test as an age-based screening tool has had in Denmark. The primary data used came from the Danish road accident register. The present study compared the number of fatal accidents before and after the implementation of screening for cognitive impairment.There were two main findings. First, there was no statistically significant difference in the number of older drivers involved in fatal accidents before and after the implementation of the screening process, indicating that the screening had no effect on the safety of older drivers. Second, there was a significant increase in the number of unprotected older (but not younger) road users who were killed between the two periods of observation, suggesting that the screening process produced a modal shift among older persons from driving to unprotected, significantly less safe modes of transportation. As a consequence, the number of fatalities in this group increased.Older driver screening is an example of a political measure that intuitively makes sense, but fails to produce the desired benefits. On the contrary, on a system level, it decreases the overall safety and is connected to various direct and indirect costs. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.