Proposal On

'Risks Associated with Driving while Elderly'

By

1INTRODUCTION3

2PROBLEM STATEMENT3

3RATIONALE FOR THE RESEARCH4

4STATEMENT OF THE RESEARCH OBJECTIVES5

5HYPOTHESIS5

6DEFINITION OF TERMS5

7SUMMARY6

8LITERATURE REVIEW6

9METHODOLOGY8

9.1Sampling8

10RESEARCH DESIGN9

11PARTICIPANTS9

12INSTRUMENTATION AND DATA COLLECTION PLANS10

12.1Method/Research Procedure10

12.2Statistical Analysis of Data12

13PROPOSED ANALYSIS OF THE DATA12

13.1Validity of the Measurement13

13.2Reliability13

14IMPLICATIONS AND LIMITATIONS14

15TIME SCHEDULE15

16PERSONNEL15

17BUDGET16

18RESOURCES16

19REFERENCES17

APPENDIX A20

20QUESTIONS FOR SURVEYS/QUESTIONNAIRES/INTERVIEWS20

APPENDIX B23

21NEEDED ASSURANCE/CLEARANCES23

APPENDIX C24

Risks Associated with Driving while Elderly

Introduction

Driving is regarded as a basic skill in postmodern societies, which allows mobility for leisure and practical purposes, in addition to, active social involvement. For older persons, holding a driver's license and the driving privilege is of special value as it permits them to uphold a non-stigmatized and non-age related identity (Eisenhandler, 1990). Therefore, for elderly men particularly, driving has become a significant aspect of perceived self-esteem and independence (Hakamies-Blomqvist, & Washlstrome, 1998). Certainly, it is revealed by studies that in old age, cessation of driving causes depression, dependency, decline in social interactions and physical functioning (Fonda, Wallace, & Herzog, 2001) and escalates mortality (Foley, Heimovitz, Guralnik, & Brock, 2002), even after the availability of alternative transportation (Baily, 2004). Furthermore, even when controlling for health status, there is a higher risk that elderly people who terminate driving enter into long-term-care facilities. Nonetheless, it is significant to consider that in postmodern societies, car accidents have turn out to be the 'hidden epidemic' (World Health Organization, 2003), and the infirmity associated with old age is intuitively, regarded as a risk factor for car accidents. The aim of our proposed study is to analyze the risk factors associated with the elderly people driving.

Problem Statement

The concerns for elderly drivers are increasing with a steady rise in population of both the aged people and the elderly drivers. It is reported by the U.S. Department of Transportation that fatality rates of driver are highest among the both oldest and youngest drivers. The rate for elderly drivers is 9 times as high when compared with the fatality rates for drivers' ages 25 through 69 (U.S. Department of Transportation, 1999). A number of studies have demonstrated that with increasing age, accidents per mile driven also increase (Rizzo et. al., 2001; Stutts & Wilkins, 2003). Though young drivers aged 24 years or less have an even higher collision rate per miles driven than the older drivers aged 65 years or older (Marshall et. al., 2007); however, elderly people seem to be more prone to accidents in comparison to younger segments of licensed population.. The ability of elderly patients can be affected by certain medical conditions (Appendix C). Aging, both pathological and healthy, is linked up with deteriorations in cognitive, physical/psychomotor, and sensory/perceptual abilities that may compromise ability of old drivers to drive in a safe manner (Anstey et. al., 2005; Eby et. al., 1998) That's why, one of the knottiest issues confronted by senior citizens and by their families as well is when should the elderly give away driving? Or are the risk factors associated with elderly driving adequate enough to stay senior citizens away from driving?

Rationale for the Research

A vital mobility option is offered by driving for most elderly, giving them a ...