DriveABLE Assessment Centers Inc.

Abstract

The DriveABLE Assessment Program began by targeting the vulnerable driver population of older adults. DriveABLE targets all ages that may have cognitive impairments as a result of medical conditions or medications. By combining technology and research, the DriveABLE Assessment program aims to aid those who suffer from medical conditions, often brought on by aging which influences driving competence. The program is exemplar in the way it targets a wide variety of medical conditions, and its comprehensive approach of including physicians as the basis of referrals and implementing assessment programs that allow for older drivers to continue driving. DriveABLE provides service, software, and hardware solutions for commercial fleets, governments, insurers, and the medical community to help determine if medical conditions have affected one’s driving competence and ability, also described as “driver risk assessment.”

Appendices

BRIO Model: DriveABLE Assessment Program

Group Served: Older driver; Individuals with cognitive/medical conditions.

Goal: Combining technology and research to provide a driver risk assessment program that determines driving competence as a result of medical conditions.

Background	Resources	Implementation	Outcome
Clients are typically over the age of 65 and have one or more medical conditions that can affect or have affected driving abilities. The program was developed by Dr. Allen Dobbs after empirical studies that identified both healthy driver behavior and cognitively impaired driver behavior A road course assessment and a cognitive evaluation was produced	During development, the Alberta Government provided assistance, as well as other supporters DriveABLE had assessment centers across Canada and the United States In recent years, DriveABLE has stopped providing assessment services—instead provides technology and training to licensed and certified organizations, creating licensed assessment providers	Clients with medical conditions or on certain medications are referred to DriveABLE sites through physicians, licensing organizations, or family/friends All centers use the same evaluation process involving a computer-based cognitive assessment (DCAT) and a road evaluation (DORE) DCAT involves tasks that measure aspects of driving, including attention, spatial judgment, and reaction time DORE is scientifically developed for on-road evaluations that test for cognitive impairment, by comparing results against healthy driver habits	Licensed centers exist across Canada—in seven provinces and one territory, the United States—in 25 states and Puerto Rico, and in Auckland, New Zealand Dr. Dobbs was awarded “The Claude P. Beaubien Award of Research Excellence” by the Alzheimer Society of Canada for research underlying DriveABLE assessment Dr. Dobbs was selected as Alberta Innovator of the Year in 1998 for the development of DriveABLE assessment centers Now, DriveABLE concerns itself with neurology, student transportation, healthcare, and fleet—providing products for a variety of aspects of cognitive and driving ability assessment

Life Space Model: DriveABLE Assessment Program

Sociocultural: civilization/community	Interpersonal: primary and secondary relationships	Physical environments: where we live	Internal states: biochemical/genetic and means of coping
Advocacy for a valid and scientific assessment Multi-disciplinary approach which involves researchers, physicians, occupational therapists, government agencies, insurance companies as well as others Use of community services to bring awareness to medical conditions which can interfere with driving	Involving family members, caregivers, and physicians as part of the referral process Protects the physician/patient relationship because physician no longer has to make a judgment decision	Use of on-road evaluation to identify unsafe driving. Road course is designed to reveal errors made by drivers who are unsafe, while allowing healthy drivers to pass Equal testing for urban and rural road users	Assessing unsafe driving due to the onset of a medical condition such as Alzheimer’s disease, neurological disease, heart disease, head injury, stroke, diabetes, and other conditions affecting mental ability Use of computer-based tests which assess mental and motor skills relevant to driving Support group studies underway to help the individual and their family members deal with the stress of no longer being able to drive