Evaluating the feasibility and usability of a coaching app for older adult drivers

Introduction: As the U.S. population ages, there is a growing need for scalable tools that help older adults drive safely and thereby preserve mobility, a key social determinant of health. We piloted StreetCoach, a smartphone application that passively monitors driving through telematics and delivers personalized feedback, risky-driving summaries, and targeted educational content to older adults, including those with cognitive impairment. The pilot was designed to evaluate whether older adults, including those with cognitive impairment, could independently install and use the app, how they rated its usability and accuracy, and whether usability differed by cognitive status. Method: Fifty-one older adults (ages 50–85), including 19 with cognitive impairment, were enrolled in a 50-day pilot study. We assessed app engagement, self-reported changes in driving, trip-level risky driving events (hard braking, rapid acceleration, cornering, speeding, and phone use), and perceived usability using the System Usability Scale (SUS). Results: The app recorded 11,017 trips across 51 participants over the study period. The majority of participants rated StreetCoach as highly usable, and most reported increased awareness of their risky driving after using the app. Usability did not differ significantly between participants with and without cognitive impairment (mean SUS 78 vs. 85, p > 0.05), though the pilot was not powered to detect such a difference. Conclusions: A smartphone telematics coaching application could be independently installed and used by older adults across a range of health conditions, including cognitive impairment. These findings establish feasibility for a future randomized trial testing whether personalized telematics coaching can extend the period of safe independent driving. Practical Applications: Telematics-based feedback apps offer a low-cost, scalable way for clinicians, families, and driver licensing agencies to support safe driving among older adults without specialized infrastructure.