Health Care Providers and Older Adult Service Organizations to Assist in the Prevention and Early Recognition of Florida’s At-Risk Drivers

Sandler, Mark; Nichols, Tish; Tarburton, Robert · 2015 · ROSA P / Florida. Dept. of Transportation

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Summary

This report presents the findings of a health care needs assessment conducted by SRA Research Group for the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and the Safe Mobility for Life Coalition. The study addresses the growing safety concern regarding older adult drivers in Florida, where the population aged 65 and over is projected to exceed one-quarter of residents by 2030. Increased age is associated with higher risks of crashes, fatalities, and serious injuries due to declines in vision, cognitive function, and physical ability. The research aimed to establish a baseline understanding of how medical professionals and older adult service providers assess, discuss, and intervene regarding at-risk drivers aged 50 and over. Specifically, it sought to identify barriers to these discussions, evaluate the efficacy of current assessment tools, and determine the informational needs of these professionals to support the Prevention and Early Recognition strategies of Florida’s Aging Road User Strategic Safety Plan. The methodology involved a comprehensive approach including a literature review, the establishment of a technical resource group, individual depth interviews, and a statewide survey administered across all 67 Florida counties. The survey targeted medical professionals (including physicians, nurses, and specialists) and social service providers (such as social workers and government personnel) who interact with aging road users. The data collection focused on understanding the frequency of driving-related conversations, the tools used for evaluation, the barriers to intervention, and the awareness of existing resources. The study also examined the incidence of reporting at-risk drivers to the Florida Department of Motor Vehicles and identified the types of support materials professionals require to effectively address driver safety and mobility issues. The findings reveal that while a majority of medical professionals (85%) and social service providers (87%) discuss driving with older adults, significant barriers hinder effective intervention. The primary obstacles include a lack of resources to assess driving ability (55%), insufficient transportation alternatives to offer older drivers (50%), and fear of negatively impacting the older adult’s life (49%). Although respondents largely agreed that physicians (76%) and family members (74%) should bear primary responsibility for these conversations, they also recognized a shared responsibility among vision specialists, social service professionals, and law enforcement. Crucially, there is a widespread lack of adequate tools; only 34% of medical professionals and 21% of social service providers felt they had the right tools to assess driver fitness. Consequently, reporting rates are low, with only about one-third of professionals reporting at-risk drivers. Furthermore, most respondents indicated a strong need for simple screening tools to identify at-risk drivers and better educational materials, as few currently possess the resources to educate clients on driver safety and mobility alternatives. The significance of this study lies in its identification of critical gaps in the current system for managing older adult driver safety. The results demonstrate that while professionals are willing to engage in these discussions, they are hampered by a lack of practical assessment tools, educational resources, and viable transportation options. The report concludes that the Safe Mobility for Life Coalition must develop and disseminate targeted outreach materials, simple screening tools, and resource guides to empower health care and service providers. By addressing these barriers, the findings aim to facilitate earlier recognition of at-risk drivers and improve the safety, access, and mobility of Florida’s aging population, ultimately reducing crash rates and fatalities among older adults.

Key finding

A vast majority of medical professionals (88%) and social service providers (87%) agreed that a simple screening tool is needed to identify at-risk drivers, yet only 34% of medical professionals and 21% of social service providers felt they had the right tools to assess driver fitness.

Methodology

survey

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_rosap 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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• older driver retraining
• older drivers
• fitness to drive assessment

Information type

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• Empirical Findings: observational prevalence