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The effectiveness of online education, feedback and lessons to improve older driver safety.

The relative effectiveness of tailored lessons, workshops and feedback on older drivers’ on-road safety over 12 months.

Status
Active, not recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ANZCTR
Registry ID
ACTRN12622001515785
Enrollment
124
Registered
2022-12-06
Start date
2023-02-15
Completion date
2023-09-28
Last updated
2024-07-15

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

None listed

Brief summary

Older drivers have relatively high crash rates and are increasing in number. We aim to evaluate the relative effectiveness and cost-efficiency of interventions for older drivers over a 12 month period. A randomised control trial comparing driving lessons, personalised feedback on driving skill, and a road-rules refresher workshop will be conducted. If effective, interventions will improve driving safety, reduce costs associated with crashes, and maintain social participation.

Interventions

This is a randomised control trial involving two intervention arms and an active control group. The three arms will include the following conditions: * Control: Road Rules Refresher Workshop (C); * Intervention I: Feedback (F) plus C; * Intervention II: Driving Lessons-Plus-Feedback (L+F) plus C. Road Rules Refresher Workshop (C) * All participants receive Road Rules Refresher Workshop, which is an online road-rules refresher course, and a copy of the latest NSW Road Users Handbook. The Worksho

This is a randomised control trial involving two intervention arms and an active control group. The three arms will include the following conditions: * Control: Road Rules Refresher Workshop (C); * Intervention I: Feedback (F) plus C; * Intervention II: Driving Lessons-Plus-Feedback (L+F) plus C. Road Rules Refresher Workshop (C) * All participants receive Road Rules Refresher Workshop, which is an online road-rules refresher course, and a copy of the latest NSW Road Users Handbook. The Workshop is pre-recorded by an accredited Driving Instructor (DI) and a link is sent to the participants who can complete the Workshop online. Participants are asked to complete the single 1-hour Workshop following randomisation and prior to undertaking any other interventions (for those allocated to Intervention I or II). The 1-hour session will include presentation of road-rules, vehicle safety, and general effects of ageing on driving safety. Participants will complete a Process Evaluation Survey 3 months and 12 months after randomisation. Feedback (F) * Participants allocated to Interventions I and II will receive (in addition to the Road Rules Refresher Workshop) a 1-hour individual Feedback session over zoom with the Intervention Occupational Therapist (OT), within one month of completing the Road Rules Refresher Workshop. This will include (1) discussion of the participants’ driving performance on the Baseline On-Road Assessment, (2) viewing the video clips of errors from the Baseline On-Road Assessment, (3) identifying behaviours/habits to change in order to improve safety, and (4) developing a written goal directed plan for implementing the behaviour changes. An example behaviour/habit that may be identified for change is a need to conduct a head-check prior to indication and lane change. Following the session, participants will then use a workbook (custom developed for the study) for 10-30 minutes per fortnight over a period of 12 weeks to document fortnightly progress on their behaviour change goals, opportunities and barriers to practice, and self-evaluations. Participants will also complete a Process Evaluation Survey 3 months and 12 months after randomisation. * Participants allocated to Intervention II will receive (in addition to the Road Rules Refresher Workshop, as well as Feedback session + 12-week workbook) two individual 1-hour driving lessons conducted by an accredited DI, within one month of completing the Road Rules Refresher Workshop. (1) Lesson 1 will be conducted in a dual-brake vehicle and includes on-road driving practice of the behaviour/habit changes identified in the Baseline assessment using routes within or near the participants’ usual driving range and environment, (2) Lesson 2 will be conducted in the participants’ own vehicle and involve the Intervention-DI providing guided on-road training and review of specific skills (identified in the Baseline assessment), using routes within or near the participants’ usual driving range, and then further application of those refreshed skills in unfamiliar areas. Lessons will be approximately 7 days apart. Participants will complete a Process Evaluation Survey 3 months and 12 months after randomisation. To note, the Process Evaluation surveys allow us to monitor deliver of interventions, and participant acceptability and adherence. All participants will complete baseline assessments, completing an online General Health and Driving Questionnaire, a 2-hour Lab Assessment (testing vision, cognitive functioning and off road driving skills), and a 1-hour On-Road Driving Test. Once enrolled, participants are asked to complete a monthly driving diary for the 12-month period, assessing their driving frequency and whether or not they had any accidents. All participants will be followed up at 3 and 12. At 3 months all participants will complete the 1-hour On-Road Driving Test, the Process Surveys and continue their monthly diaries. At 12 months, the participants will complete the 1-hour On-Road Driving Test, the 1-hour Lab Assessments, a follow-up General Health and Driving Questionnaire. Adherence indicators Road Rules Refresher Workshop: completion of video NSW Road User Handbook: checklist of receiving it. Feedback session: attendance, process evaluation survey Workbook: level of fortnightly completion and self-reported adherence, and process evaluation survey Driving lessons: attendance and process evaluation survey

Sponsors

Neuroscience Research Australia
Lead SponsorOther

Study design

Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Factorial
Primary purpose
Prevention
Masking
Blinded (masking used) (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
All
Age
65 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

1. Hold a current driver’s licence and willing to provide the driver’s licence number, expiry date and conditions to the research team. 2. Be available for the duration of the intervention 3. Drive a vehicle that has at least third-party insurance and willing to show the certificate for verification 4. Have not completed an older driver refresher course in the last 5 years, and 5. Have sufficient English language skills to complete the written questionnaires and follow verbal instructions. 6. Lives in Sydney metropolitan area.

Exclusion criteria

1. Significant cognitive impairment (likely to impact participation) (MoCA <23) 2. Other serious mental or physical health conditions that would prevent full participation in the study or require medications that impair driving ability (e.g., major stroke, current cancer treatment, antipsychotic medication, narcotic pain medication, significant visual field loss) 3. Vision impairment, and 4. High scores on the baseline ORT DSR (>8/10) occurring in 10% of our previous studies. 5. Very low scores on the baseline ORT DSR (<3/10) occurring in 5% of our previous studies.

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ANZCTR · Data processed: Feb 5, 2026