Gender Differences in Adapting Driving Behavior to

Authors: Andrew J Sarkin Steven R Tally Jennalee S Wooldridge Kyle Choi Marian Shieh Robert M Kaplan

Publish Date: 2013/07/14

Volume: 38, Issue: 6, Pages: 1175-1181

PDF Link

Abstract

This study investigated whether men and women are equally likely to adapt their driving behaviors in response to visual limitations Participants were 376 222 women and 154 men presurgical cataract patients from the Shiley Eye Center in La Jolla California All participants completed the National Eye Institute Visual Functioning Questionnaire which assesses selfreported visual symptoms functional limitations and behaviors including driving during the day at night or in difficult conditions Visual acuity was assessed using the log of the minimal angle of resolution LogMAR scale There were no significant differences in LogMAR visual acuity between men and women who reported either that they stopped driving at night because of visual impairment or reported having no difficulty driving at night Of participants who reported having difficulty driving at night mean weighted LogMAR scores indicated significantly better visual acuity for women than men There were no significant differences in LogMAR visual acuity between women and men in any of the difficult driving condition categories Significantly more women than men reported that they stopped driving in difficult conditions because of eyesight despite the lack of gender differences in visual acuity for this sample We found no evidence that cataract disease had different effects on the visual acuity of older adult men and women However there was a significant difference between genders in selfreported driving behavior It is possible that some women are more cautious or have less need to drive However failing to adapt driving behaviors to accommodate visual limitations may represent a potential behavioral public health risk for men

Keywords: