This photo is not directly relevant to the story. (123rf) A new study suggests that a combination of cognitive performance and educational background may help identify older drivers at a higher risk of serious crashes, according to researchers at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital.In an analysis of police data involving 876 male drivers aged 60 and older, a team led by Kim Ki-woong and Han Ji-won, professors in the hospital’s department of neuropsychiatry, found significant differences in crash risk based on years of education and performance on a trail-making test.The trail-making test is a cognitive assessment that measures a person’s ability to shift attention and make quick decisions by asking them to connect numbers and letters in alternating order.Among the drivers included in the study, neither they nor their family members had reported previous traffic violations or accidents, making it difficult to identify any apparent tendency toward crashes.Yet 111 had actually been involved in at-fault traffic accidents that resulted in injuries or fatalities. A test similar to the trail-making test, which assesses the ability to shift attention by connecting numbers and letters in alternating order. (SNUH) The researchers found that 20.9 percent of drivers who had nine years or less of education and took 180 seconds or longer to complete the trail-making test had been involved in an accident.That was more than twice the 9.1 percent recorded among drivers who met neither condition. The difference remained significant even after adjusting for factors including age.The researchers suggested that fewer years of formal education may be associated with less awareness of age-related functional decline, while slower performance on the trail-making test may reflect difficulty responding to complex driving situations.They cautioned, however, that education level should not be used to determine whether someone is fit to drive.Instead, the two factors could be used to identify a relatively small group of drivers who may benefit from more detailed assessments of their driving abilities.They also stressed that years of education should not be interpreted simply as a measure of academic achievement.“A considerable number of drivers involved in accidents were a silent risk group whose risks were not recognized by either themselves or their families,” Kim said.“The findings show that having no history of traffic violations or accidents should not be enough to determine that a driver is safe, and that separate methods are needed to identify such high-risk drivers.”The study was published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.