National Older Driver Research and Training Center

Examining issues surrounding older driver assessment, remediation, rehabilitation, and the use of alternatives to the car.

From the Director

Welcome to the website of University of Florida National Older Driver Research and Training Center - NODRTC. Our focus is on helping older persons maintain their safe driving ability just as long as possible, and for those who can no longer drive, developing satisfactory alternatives. NODRTC includes various programs including a service program called Independence Drive, where we conduct assessments, offer remedial strategies to ensure safe driving, and for those who can no longer drive we provide counseling in approaches to maintaining active community mobility. We also have a large research program focused on older driver assessment, remediation and counseling and offer professional training in older driver assessment, remediation, and counseling.

The National Older Driver Research and Training Center was founded in 2000 and was initially named the Seniors Institute on Transportation and Communications. With funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and from the Federal Highway Administration in 2003, we changed our name to reflect our national focus. We now have, or have had, funding for our work on older driver safety issues from additional sources including the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Florida Department of Transportation.

Our Center has assembled an excellent interdisciplinary group of faculty and Ph.D. students, with backgrounds in occupational therapy, cognitive psychology, medicine, civil engineering, mechanical engineering, and computer science. We have excellent facilities for our service program, a high-fidelity driving simulator, and instrumented vehicles.

NODRTC offers opportunities for Research Assistant positions and doctoral study within the Rehabilitation Science Ph.D. program and within the College of Engineering at the University of Florida. Further, we have post-doctoral fellowships and faculty positions. We welcome inquiries from those interested in working with us at NODRTC. We also have a strong collaborative model for our work, both within the University of Florida, and with other institutions, agencies, and corporations in the United States and around the world. Please contact me at wmann@phhp.ufl.edu to discuss ideas for collaborative work. I look forward to hearing from you!


William C. Mann, PhD
Director, NODRTC