Musculoskeletal Conditions and Related Driving Reduction Among Older Drivers: A LongROAD Study

AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety; Hill, Linda L. · 2017 · AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety

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Summary

This research brief examines the relationship between lifetime musculoskeletal condition diagnoses and driving reduction among older adults, utilizing data from the Longitudinal Research on Aging Drivers (LongROAD) study. The study was motivated by the known impact of musculoskeletal issues—such as arthritis, joint pain, and neuropathies—on driving habits, which often necessitate restrictions or modifications. The primary objective was to quantify how these specific health conditions influence the decision to reduce driving in the past year among a cohort of older drivers. The analysis employed cross-sectional baseline data from the multisite LongROAD prospective cohort study, which collected information between July 2015 and April 2017. The study population consisted of 2,990 older drivers aged 65–79 who held valid licenses, drove at least once weekly, and had no significant cognitive impairment. Participants self-reported their lifetime health diagnoses and whether they had reduced driving in the past 12 months due to health conditions. The researchers focused on 20 specific musculoskeletal conditions identified from a broader list of 55 health categories. The results indicated that 77% of the cohort (2,286 participants) reported a lifetime musculoskeletal diagnosis. Prevalence increased with age, rising from 72% in the 65–69 age group to 83% in the 75–79 group. Women were more likely than men to have a musculoskeletal diagnosis (81% vs. 72%) and were nearly twice as likely to reduce driving due to these conditions (5.3% vs. 2.8%). Among those who reduced driving for health reasons, 29% cited musculoskeletal issues. While joint pain/swelling (69%) and non-rheumatoid arthritis (68%) were the most common conditions and accounted for the largest number of driving reductions, hip (8.8%) and knee replacements (8.4%) had the highest rates of driving reduction per diagnosed individual. The study concludes that musculoskeletal conditions significantly contribute to driving reduction in older adults, with gender playing a critical role in both diagnosis rates and behavioral responses. The authors suggest that women may reduce driving earlier due to lower confidence or higher healthcare engagement, while men may continue driving despite limitations. The findings highlight the need for clinicians and traffic safety professionals to consider gender and personality in counseling older drivers. To mitigate mobility loss, the brief recommends low-cost vehicle modifications, such as thick steering wheels, keyless entry, and assistive devices, alongside programs like CarFit to optimize vehicle fit. Future research should further investigate the confounding effects of pain medications on driving ability.

Key finding

In 2,990 LongROAD baseline older drivers, 77% reported lifetime musculoskeletal diagnoses and 4.2% of those with diagnoses reduced past-year driving because of them; women were roughly twice as likely as men to reduce driving, and hip/knee replacements had the highest condition-specific reduction rates while joint pain and arthritis drove the most reductions overall.

Methodology

survey

Sample size: n=2990

Provenance

The full processing record for this entry. Every stage of this paper's journey through the pipeline is logged — what ran, with which tool and model, how many attempts it took, and when it last completed. Discovered via bulk_ingest_aaa_foundation on 2026-05-23 (6 acquisition events logged).

Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.

Topics

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• physical impairment