A DriveSafety driving simulators provides a safe and controlled environment to practice driving skills, provide wellness health options for the elderly, help rehabilitate those with physical and cognitive limitations, assess an individual’s driving fitness and potential cognitive impairments, and research driving related issues.
Driving simulators are used by clinicians, therapists and rehabilitation specialists to help individuals return to normal life after experiencing a medical set-back. Stroke, brain or spin injuries, orthopaedic procedures, arthritis, amputations & prosthetics, medications, age related issues all can have an impact on a person’s ability to safely driving a car. Practicing driving in a realistic driving simulator as part of a rehabilitation program is good medicine.
As people age, mental health can be assisted through a variety of brain activities, from games and puzzles to more complex computer exercises. A driving simulator can be added to a mental health, brain fitness or cognitive wellness program. These programs are found in retirement communities, resident living facilities and any environment geared toward senior citizen health programs.
There are times when a person’s fitness to drive a car becomes a concern, often by family members. Cognition, vision and motor skills all have an impact on our ability to drive. As we age, these skills diminish. If someone’s fitness to drive comes into question, there are a number of ways to have these cognitive driving skills assessed. Besides normal psychology / neuropsychology tests and on-road testing, certain types of driving simulators provide a safe and accurate assessment of one’s fitness to drive. In fact, with modern technology, certain driving simulators have become good predictors of cognitive impairments as well as levels of impairment.
Researchers in psychology, industrial engineering / human factors, transportation and traffic engineering, gerontology, rehabilitation, occupational therapy, and pharmacology, use driving simulators to better understand how drivers behave in a variety of driving scenarios. Researchers use test subjects of all ages and genders as they investigate driver behavior and driving engineering issues.
If you or know someone in need of driving practice, rehabilitation or assessment as a result of a perceived or diagnosed medical condition, one of DriveSafety’s medical partners many be able to help.