Model Driver Screening and Evaluation Program: Volume 1: Project Summary and Model Program Recommendations
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Summary
This report presents the findings of a research project sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to study the feasibility, scientific validity, and utility of functional capacity screening for older drivers. The primary motivation was to develop a "Model Driver Screening and Evaluation Program" capable of detecting functionally impaired drivers who pose elevated safety risks, while simultaneously supporting remediation, providing mobility counseling, and educating the public to preserve the mobility of older persons. The project aimed to balance safety concerns with the need to maintain independence for aging populations. The methodology involved a multi-phase approach conducted between 1996 and 2003. Initially, a questionnaire was distributed to Driver License Administrators in the U.S. and Canada to assess cost, time parameters, and legal or ethical implications for implementation. Subsequently, a battery of functional tests was developed and pilot-tested in Motor Vehicle Administration sites and community settings. The core of the study was the Maryland Pilot Older Driver Study, which created a database for over 2,500 drivers drawn from three distinct samples: license renewal applicants, medically referred individuals, and residential community residents. The study measured functional abilities, driving habits, and crash/violation history. Additionally, the researchers developed cost estimates for screening activities and produced a comprehensive "Safe Mobility for Older People Notebook" and updated guidelines for motor vehicle administrators. The results demonstrated that specific functional tests could predict driving safety outcomes. The study analyzed relationships between screening measures and crash data, as well as conviction data, using odds ratios to determine predictive validity. Key measures included perceptual-cognitive tests (such as Useful Field of View, Delayed Recall, and Trail-Making) and physical measures (such as Rapid Pace Walk and Foot Tap). The analysis identified peak valid odds ratios for predicting crashes and moving violations, allowing for the establishment of candidate cutpoints for screening. For instance, performance on the Motor-Free Visual Perception/Visual Closure subtest showed significant disparity between crash-involved and non-crash-involved drivers. The study also documented self-reported driving habits, including avoidance of night driving, left turns, and heavy traffic, correlating these behaviors with functional status. The significance of this work lies in the creation of a comprehensive framework for evaluating fitness to drive. The report provides specific recommendations for a model program that integrates detection, remediation, and mobility counseling. It offers motor vehicle administrators updated guidelines and an annotated research compendium of driver assessment techniques. By establishing scientific validity for functional screening and addressing administrative feasibility, the project supports the implementation of programs that can identify high-risk older drivers while promoting safe mobility through alternative transportation options and public education. The findings provide a basis for policy decisions regarding the screening and evaluation of older drivers to enhance road safety.
Key finding
Functional screening measures, including the Motor-Free Visual Perception Test and Trail-Making Test, significantly predicted crash involvement and moving violations in older drivers.
Methodology
mixed_methods
Sample size: 2500
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).
| Stage | Outcome | Tool | Model | Prompt | Attempts | Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| discover | success | rosap | — | — | 2 | 2026-05-23 |
| archive | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-05-23 |
| extract | success | cached | — | — | 2 | 2026-06-10 |
| clean | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-01 |
| chunk | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-01 |
| embed | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-02 |
| enrich | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-05-23 |
| promote | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-05-23 |
| summarize | success | llm | qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant | summ-v5 | 3 | 2026-06-10 |
| tag | success | vector_similarity | — | — | 19 | 2026-06-11 |
| verify | success | — | — | — | 2 | 2026-06-10 |
Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.
Topics
Ranked by relevance to this paper. Hover a topic for its definition.
- fitness to drive assessment
- licensing policy
- older driver retraining
- cognitive impairment
- mci dementia driving
- cognitive capacity variation
Information type
What kind of knowledge this paper contributes, grouped by family — independent of topic (what it is about) and method (how it was studied).
- Applied Guidance: countermeasure evaluation
- Methodological Resource: validation psychometrics
- Theoretical Contribution: computational model