EFFECTS OF AGE AND HEMIANOPIC VISUAL-FIELD LOSS ON DRIVING

Purpose. With the use of an interactive driving simulator, we examined the driving performance of older patients with either homonymous or q uadrantic hemianopsia with primarily occipital lobe damage resulting f rom cerebrovascular accidents (CVA's). Methods. We compared the perfor mance of these patients with that of a normally sighted, age-similar c ontrol group and that of a normally sighted younger group. Results. Th e driving performance of the patients was either worse than, or simila r to, that of the older control group; all of the older individuals (b oth patients and normally sighted subjects) had worse performance than the younger group. Conclusions. Age-related effects combined with the effects of visual field losses in older patients with cerebrovascular accidents had a negative impact on driving skills.