Australian occupational therapy driver assessors' opinions on improving on-road driver assessment procedures.

OBJECTIVE

We collected practitioner opinions to improve the validity and reliability of the on-road driver assessment procedures used in Australia.

METHOD: We used focus groups to document the views of experienced occupational therapy driver assessors using a purposive sampling method.

RESULTS

Eight focus groups were conducted with 55 clinicians practicing in urban and rural regions. There was strong support for greater standardization of procedures for all tests. For drivers seeking unrestricted (open) licenses, use of standard routes with predetermined assessment points was important where practicable. Where use of a nonstandard route for this purpose was unavoidable, it was important to specify a minimum set of requirements related to route characteristics and assessment items.

CONCLUSION

Australian occupational therapy driver assessors support greater standardization of test routes and procedures to improve reliability and validity. However, the extent to which standardization can be achieved is limited by variable road traffic environments where assessments are conducted.