Driving practice effects for older drivers with mild cognitive impairment: A preliminary study.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Older drivers with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) often show declining driving performance. Evidence is lacking regarding whether their driving skills can be improved after practice. AIMS/OBJECTIVES: To compare the practice effects of older drivers with MCI and drivers with normal cognition in an unfamiliar, standardized driving course with three practices. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Single-blind two-group observational design. Twelve drivers with confirmed MCI as the experimental group and ten with normal cognition (NC) as the control, all ≥ 55 years old. The primary outcome was to assess the practice effects, measured with an in-car global-positioning-system mobile application to compare the speed and directional control of a complex manoeuvre after practices. Secondary outcomes were to assess the pass/fail rate and mistakes observed for the 3rd/final on-road driving practice. No instructions were given during practice. Descriptive statistics and the Mann-Whitney U test were used for data analysis. RESULTS: No significant inter-group difference in the pass/fail rate and number of mistakes. Some MCI drivers performed better in the speed and directional control of the S-Bend manoeuvre after practices. CONCLUSIONS: The driving performance of drivers with MCI may improve with practice. SIGNIFICANCE: Older drivers with MCI may potentially benefit from driver retraining. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier NCT04648735).