This paper provides an insight into the article The On-Road Difficulties of Older Drivers and Their Relationship with Self-Reported Motor Vehicle Crashes. Its organization is fairly correspondent with the structure of the article.
The article delivers in-depth results on the topic of research and clearly defines the objectives of the study, the design of The On-Road Difficulties of Older Drivers and Their Relationship with Self Reported Motor Vehicle Crashes, the setting where the study took place, the measurements used, and the results. The description of the problem in the introduction helps in putting into context the intended purpose of the research and also helps in introducing to the reader the fine aspects of the difficulties experienced by older drivers.
Throughout the article, there is a consistent use of the keywords “older drivers”, “driving errors”, “driving assessment” and “crashes” to emphasize the problem under investigation. There is from the beginning a clear introduction of the hypothesis: some older drivers have difficulty in some selected elements of driving (Joanne et al., 2009, p. 2063). The results that are presented later on seem to confirm the above hypothesis. The audience will especially find the article useful and easy to understand owing to the elaborate and clear definition of the methods through which assessment was carried out. Additionally, there is an attempt by the authors to describe the sample population and the mode of selection that was used to pick them coherently.
The article portrays an excellent simple way to deliver the intended information to its audience. The article is fairly short, well organized with sections and ideas arranged in a logical sequence that enables even the most uninformed of readers to follow the content. The arrangement is based on the sequential maturation of the study, from the introduction, presentation of results, and discussion of the findings of the study.
Both scholars and non-scholars will find the description of the tools used in the research to be simple and precise. Besides, the content of the description of the research tools gives insight to a would-be researcher on how to describe the tools of research. A reader will find the description of questionnaires and analyses to be quite informing.
Delivery of the results on-road difficulties experienced by older drivers and their relationship with self-reported motor vehicle crashes is a bit empirical and the reader may have to contend with computed figures that describe the data that were collected. The authors make concerted efforts to describe the demographic characteristics of the participants, and elaborate efforts to describe every aspect of the problem under study as suggested by data collected and compiled in a detailed way. The article emphasizes the use of the Wilcoxon signed ranks tests in the study, except the cases of observation and gap selection errors. There is a comprehensive report on the results including the fact that participants made more errors in self-driving than in instructed driving. The section is also a good source of statistics and information on the analysis of situations where errors that lead to car crashes are made (Joanne et al., 2009, p. 2065). Additionally, one will find it an important source of information and data on the driving errors that require interventions among older drivers.
The use of tables has been maximized, and it provides a way out for the readers who may not be mathematically oriented. Despite the simplification through graphs, some readers are likely to develop a feeling of overuse of figures, especially in written prose, which may be a source of discouragement.
There is a purposeful use of a number of current reference materials that help in reinforcing the perception that the information that is used is up to date. The reputation of the resources also gives credibility to the information contained in the report.
The discussion gives the article the theoretical touch that helps in the elaboration and “Interpretation” of the results about errors that older drivers make. The discussion is balanced and starts by highlighting the hypotheses that were identified at the beginning of the article and relating to them the results were obtained. Like in the results section, the discussion gives a coherent account of the perspectives of driving that were under study and their causes together with their link in the existing literature. The information issued in the discussion is worth reading by any scholar or non-scholar for educational or general purposes.
Despite the excellence portrayed in the research and delivery of the results, there is a need for the inclusion of less mathematical jargon that may alienate potential users. Additionally, the authors may want to consider using a variety of visual presentation tools with varying features.
Moreover, the article presents a well-researched and informative piece whose importance in academic pursuits cannot be overestimated. Besides the results contained in the article can be generalized to help define driving trends among old people. Additionally, it provides a model for readers who would like to do research on traffic and driving issues and subtly gives guidelines on how to fuse research with underlying literature and information.
Reference
Joanne, M.W. et al. (2009). The on-road difficulties of older drivers and their relationship with self-reported motor vehicle crashes. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 57, 2062–2069.