What to do about Elderly Drivers: Part 2 of 2; Every day, we are all getting older. With better health care, life expectancy is rising. For a population that has enjoyed the personal freedom the automobile offers, a potential danger looms.(Special Report)

Byline: KEVIN A. WILSON

One promising approach

Owsley's work is put to practical use in the department of ophthalmology's Driving Assessment Clinic. The clinic gets referrals from physicians who suspect a patient should be evaluated and takes referrals from other health-care providers, patients or family. The clinic is run by an occupational therapist certified in driver rehabilitation. The patient gets a vision screening that includes field of vision, peripheral, contrast and processing speed (recognition) tests. Attention, memory and decision-making ability are evaluated. The therapist drives with the patient for two hours to measure on-road performance. Sometimes the answer is "Stop driving.'' Sometimes the answer is remediation-for instance a patient with cataracts can be advised to have surgery or give up driving. Physical impairments often can be addressed by therapy or assistance in the vehicle.

Owsley says other similar programs are found around the country, usually in association with rehabilitation centers or research hospitals.

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A path forward?

Former NHTSA administrator Ricardo Martinez suggests that the licensing process ought to demand lifelong learning. When he took advanced driving courses, he learned he didn't know how to make the best use of antilock brakes or traction control. Any 90-year-old still at the wheel probably learned to drive on a Model A, if not a Model T. Today's cars ...