According to forecasts, the proportion of people over 65 will rise to over 26% by 2040. At the same time, the risk of road accidents increases with age.
How do cognitive and psychomotor skills change in old age – and what consequences does this have for fitness to drive? SCHUHFRIED investigated this question in a recent study together with the German Road Safety Board, the University of Bonn and sicher unterwegs. The key findings were published in the ZVS – Zeitschrift für Verkehrssicherheit, issue 05/2025.
Against the background of demographic change and a growing number of older road users, the study provides important scientific findings for an objective and future-oriented assessment of fitness to drive.
Meaningful data basis
The analysis is based on data from four validation studies and representative standard samples of the test procedures used. In total, the performance data of over 5,000 healthy car drivers aged between 60 and 93 were evaluated. Several age cohorts were formed in order to differentiate between age-related developments.
The focus on healthy older drivers makes it possible to consider age-associated changes independently of disease-related influences.
Age-related changes in driving-related performance
Key performance dimensions of driving aptitude were examined, including overview acquisition (ATAVT: Adaptive Tachoscopic Traffic Awareness Test), ability to concentrate (COG: Cognitrone), reactive resilience (DT: Determination Test), peripheral perception (PP: Peripheral Perception) and ability to react (RT: Reaction Test). The results show clear age-related trends:
- The ability to gain an overview decreases significantly from around the age of 70.
- The ability to concentrate remains stable for a long time, but shows a continuous decline from around the age of 70.
- Reactive resilience shows the most significant age-associated decline in performance and is below average across all age groups.
- From the age of 80, there is a pronounced decline in performance across several dimensions.
- From the age of 81.7, the estimated probability of at least one critical loss of performance is over 90 percent.
Clear message: performance-based assessment instead of age limits
The results clearly speak against blanket age limits when assessing fitness to drive. Instead, a differentiated, performance-based approach is recommended that objectively takes individual cognitive, sensory and psychomotor resources into account.
With this study, SCHUHFRIED underlines its role as a leading provider of scientifically sound, standardized test procedures for driving fitness diagnostics. The publication in ZVS 05/2025 provides an important basis for authorities, assessors and traffic psychology departments to ensure safe and evidence-based mobility in old age.
