Looking Forward and Looking Back: Older Adults' Views of the Impacts of Stopping Driving

ABSTRACT

This project aimed to identify the impact of driving cessation from the perspectives of older drivers and former drivers. Participants included 17 adults aged 65–88 years residing in a city in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. Using a semi-structured interview guide (with questions regarding mobility, personal impact, impact on others, engagement with life, and finances), two focus groups were held with nine current drivers, and one-on-one interviews were held with six former drivers and two current drivers. Two themes emerged concerning stopping driving. The first theme included discussions on experiencing lifestyle changes, relationship impacts, and emotional impacts. The second, the adjustment to stopping driving, included practical adaptations, and emotional responses such as appreciation, resistance, acceptance, and being positive. Although the impacts of stopping driving were substantial, there were few discrepancies between what was anticipated and what was experienced. This information could assist with developing interventions to ease the transition to former-driver status.

KEYWORDS:

• Driving cessation
• former drivers
• older drivers

Acknowledgments

This research was supported in part by a grant from AUTO21: Network of Centres of Excellence (grant A302-AST) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research through grant #299669 and a Team Grant entitled “The CIHR Team in Driving in Older Persons (Candrive II) Research Program” (grant 90429). There was no involvement of a pharmaceutical or other company. There were no conflicts of interest.

About the Authors

Nadia W. Mullen, PhD, Research Associate, Centre for Research on Safe Driving, Lakehead University, Ontario, Canada. Barbara Parker, PhD, Assistant Professor, Centre for Research on Safe Driving, Lakehead University, Ontario, Canada. Elaine Wiersma, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Health Sciences, Lakehead University, Ontario, Canada. Arne Stinchcombe, PhD, Centre for Research on Safe Driving, Lakehead University, Ontario, Canada; Department of Health Sciences, Lakehead University, Ontario, Canada. Michel Bédard, PhD, Director, Centre for Research on Safe Driving, Lakehead University, Ontario, Canada; Scientific Director, Centre for Applied Health Research (CAHR), St. Joseph's Care Group, Lakehead Psychiatric Hospital, Ontario, Canada.

Notes

1 The research center where this study was conducted maintains a list of individuals who have provided consent to be contacted for driving-related research.