Rookwood Driving Battery (RDB)

Patricia McKenna

The Rookwood Driving Battery consists of a battery of simple neuropsychological tests designed to assess basic cognitive functions essential for safe driving.

The domains of functioning assessed include

• visual perception,
• praxis skills, and

• executive function.

Each of the skills tested relate to the ability to move a car in space and act appropriately in on-road traffic.

Performance on the battery gives a good indication of an individual’s cognitive fitness to drive and help decide whether an on-road test is appropriate.

The test is for use with clients with any neurological condition which affects brain functioning (e.g. stroke, acquired brain injury, dementia etc).  The test battery also contains data for a 'normal' population with 195 individuals from 20 to 69 years of age. The score obtained from the test will indicate the likelihood of failing an on-road test.

The battery takes 30-40 minutes to administer. Each of the tests is simple and performance is not dependent on IQ. They also do not require fine manual dexterity so can be carried out easily by people who are physically frail or disabled.

The battery has sound normative data from healthy drivers and older adults and has been validated against on-road performance at the South Wales Driving Assessment Centre in Rookwood Hospital.

The test is designed to be used by therapists involved in driving assessment or those working in older adult and neurology services where they may be called upon to give an opinion of driving skill.