About this Research Topic

Background

As the population continues to age, challenges emerge which affect older adults’ ability to actively engage with society and maintain independence. For many older adults, a key element to remain independent is the ability to drive and continue driving with increasing age. Beyond the impact on the individual driver, ceasing to drive may impact others, such as, family members and friends who rely on the driver for transport. Indeed, driving cessation can be especially problematic for individuals who do not have access to alternative forms of transport, particularly individuals who live in rural localities. Evidence also reports driving plays a wider role in individuals’ lives than being simply a form of accessible transport. Driving plays an important role in personal characteristics including identity and self-esteem; therefore, driving cessation, whether voluntary or enforced, may affect individuals’ psychological wellbeing.

The aim of this special edition is to explore how age-related challenges which impact driving capability, for example deterioration in cognitive or physical health, can be identified and ameliorated to facilitate older adults continuing to drive safely and effectively and remain independent and actively engaged with life. It will also be necessary to develop approaches to encourage or enforce older adults to cease driving where necessary, taking into consideration the impact this may have on the individual and others who are reliant for transport. New and evolving technologies have the potential to offer viable alternatives to driving where older adults are required, or choose, to cease driving. Equally, can the introduction of new and evolving technologies support older adults to continue driving rather than being required or opting to cease. How such technologies could be further developed for, and introduced to, an ageing population is an important area of investigation. Additionally, identifying how alternative forms of transport could be utilized to support individuals who have ceased driving, especially where public transport is unavailable, is valuable. Furthermore, societal issues, for example, ageism and discrimination against older adults and age-stereotyping, are also influential regarding attitudes towards individuals continuing to drive as they grow older. It is important to recognize and understand such attitudes and develop an alternative narrative.

We welcome submissions focusing on, but not limited to, the topics below:

· The psychology of driving and its impact in later life
· Advances in technology to assist safety in later life driving
· Advances in technology, such as self-driving cars, which may facilitate older adults continuing to drive for longer
· Approaches and techniques designed to ease the transition for older adults reducing or stopping driving which ameliorate the impact of driving cessation and any associated impact on wellbeing
· Addressing ageism and discrimination which may affect societal attitudes towards older drivers
· The impact of driving cessation on older adults and others who are reliant for transport

Submissions should be circa 6,000 words in length and can include reviews, original research, and perspectives.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Data Report
• Editorial
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Data Report
• Editorial
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Driving, aging, older adults, driving cessation

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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