Older drivers--a complex public health issue.

OBJECTIVES

This article provides estimates of the percentage of seniors who are licensed to operate a motor vehicle. It describes the health characteristics of these license holders and reviews research relating to older drivers.

DATA SOURCES: The data are from the cross-sectional file of Statistics Canada's 1996/97 National Population Health Survey. The sample size of respondents aged 65 or older was 13,363, weighted to represent 3.4 million individuals. Supplementary data are from the 1991 Survey of Ageing and Independence, also conducted by Statistics Canada, and from Transport Canada.

ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES: The percentages of seniors with a license were calculated by age and sex. Percentages by presence of chronic conditions, disabilities and medication use were age-standardized to control for the increasing prevalence of illness at older ages.

MAIN

RESULTS

The percentage of seniors who had a driver's license declined with advancing age. The negative association between disability and license holding was pronounced. The percentage of seniors with a driver's license was also relatively low among those with heart disease, arthritis, stroke or cataracts, and among those who reported taking selected medications in the last month.