Attention and driving: Assessment in elderly individuals with dementia

The number of drivers with dementia will grow markedly over the next few decades with the aging of the US population. Psychological assessment of older drivers should include tests of attentional functions. Selective attention, as evaluated in dichotic-listening, visual search, and related information-process paradigms, is related to crash risk in drivers. This relationship is most reliable for the switching or shifting of selective attention. The same attentional mechanism is impaired in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. Competency tests for older drivers with or without dementia should include these tests and related tests for attention.