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BURNSVILLE, Minn. -- Just as you can screen for high cholesterol or high blood pressure, AAA today introduced a first-of-its kind scientifically valid tool designed to help seniors screen for their driving health in the privacy of their homes. Roadwise Review: A Tool to Help Seniors Drive Safely Longer, is a CD-ROM that measures eight physical and mental abilities shown to be the strongest predictors of crash risk among older drivers and provides feedback to guide the user's decision about their ability to drive safely.

"As we age, we experience physiological changes which could affect our driving and there are steps you can take to keep driving safely longer," said Jeff Ogden, president of AAA Minnesota/Iowa. "We are confident Roadwise has the potential to have a major impact on traffic safety and, more importantly, on the safety of our loved ones."

People over 65 are the fastest-growing population in the United States and by 2020, there will be more than 40 million licensed drivers ages 65 and older. Because of their fragility, seniors have the highest crash death rate per mile of everyone except teenagers. At the same time, a recent AAA survey of more than 1,000 seniors showed that next to financial security and the cost of affordable health care, seniors are most concerned about their continued mobility in the future. The survey also indicated that nearly 90 percent of those polled said they currently drive on a daily basis.

Based on research sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the National Institute on Aging indicating that individuals who exceed measured levels of decline in key safe driving predictors are two to five times more likely to be involved in a motor vehicle crash, AAA worked closely with scientists at TransAnalytics, a leading transportation safety research organization, to create a tool that is both state-of-the-art and user-friendly.

"In our extensive focus group testing throughout the United States, senior drivers viewed the program as simple, clear, valuable and even fun to use," Ogden said. "Many said they would follow through with the program recommendations because it would extend their safe driving years, as well as help keep themselves and their loved ones safe."

Using videos and easy-to-follow instructions, Roadwise screens drivers in eight functional areas:

   -- Leg Strength and General Mobility - necessary to control acceleration and braking.
   -- Head/Neck Flexibility - essential in checking blind spots, lane changes or merging.
   -- High Contrast Visual Acuity - needed to identify pavement markings, as well as detect many types of hazards in or

      near the road.
   -- Low Visual Acuity - vital for driving in low visibility conditions such as dusk, rain or fog.
   -- Working Memory - important in following directions, remembering traffic rules and regulations, and using information on

      highway guide signs.
   -- Visualization of Missing Information - helps a driver recognize hazards even when seeing only part of the picture.
   -- Visual Search - safe driving requires the ability to quickly find and recognize traffic signs and landmarks.
   -- Useful Field of View - ensures drivers can pay attention to what is happening right in front of them while also noticing

      safety threats at the edge of their field of view.

Roadwise uses an integrated data system that reports and provides users with confidential feedback about screening results and its CD-ROM format is compatible with most home computers.

To obtain a copy of Roadwise Review, contact your local AAA office at http://www.aaa.com/ or http://www.aaapublicaffairs.com/ . Roadwise retails for $15 but AAA clubs in Minnesota and Iowa are selling it for $5.

AAA Minnesota/Iowa, which includes more than 700,000 members, offers automotive, travel, insurance and financial services. It is part of The Auto Club Group (ACG), the largest affiliation of AAA clubs in the Midwest, with 4.1 million members in eight states. ACG clubs belong to the national AAA federation, a not-for-profit organization, with more than 45 million members in the United States and Canada.

Source: AAA Minnesota/Iowa