Acceptance and feasibility of the feedback drive as safety measure for older drivers in Germany

The increasing proportion of older drivers in Germany presents growing challenges for road safety and the maintenance of independent mobility. Although older adults are underrepresented in overall crash involvement, they are more often at fault in complex traffic situations. Conventional age-based screening approaches fail to account for the substantial interindividual variability in driving competence. This paper therefore examines feedback drives as a voluntary, non-punitive measure to support safe driving among older adults in Germany. Driving competence is assessed in situ within real traffic by experts, who subsequently provide individualised post-drive feedback. Two German studies with older drivers (65+, study 1 n = 178; study 2 n = 61) tested the feasibility and acceptance of this approach using a tablet-based evaluation tool. Although many participants demonstrated adequate driving competence, specific deficits frequently emerged in complex situations, such as intersections, lane changes, traffic observation, and speed adaptation. Within the sample, favourable acceptance was observed, with participants reporting a tendency towards increased self-reflection and a willingness to undergo repeated assessments. Overall, voluntary feedback drives offer a promising alternative to mandatory age-based screening by replacing rigid licensing restrictions with constructive professional guidance, thereby supporting compensatory strategies that safely prolong independent mobility. Although sample selectivity limits direct generalisations, these findings establish a solid foundation for future research evaluating the long-term impact and broader implementation of this measure.