December 10, 2025
Your driving patterns could be an early indicator of cognitive decline, a new study suggests. Identifying changing driving habits could predict impending dementia and help to keep older persons safe, the researchers say.
The study, from scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, used GPS trackers installed in cars to track the driving habits of nearly 300 seniors whose average age was 75. Fifty-six of the participants had mild cognitive impairment, a serious form of memory loss that sometimes progresses to full-blown Alzheimer’s disease. They compared them with 242 of their peers who did not have memory problems.
All the participants were driving at least once a week at the start of the study. The researchers tracked their driving for more than three years. During the study, participants also underwent regular tests of thinking and memory skills.
The driving patterns of both groups of participants was similar at the start of the study. But over time, the researchers found that people with mild cognitive impairment increasingly drove less, especially at night, tracking fewer miles over an average month. They initiated more and more trips during daytime hours and made fewer medium-distance trips (5 to 10 miles) and longer-distance trips (over 10 miles) overall compared to their cognitively healthy peers. Those with declining memory and thinking skills also tended to stick to familiar routes, rather than varying their routines. Interestingly those with mild cognitive impairment were less likely to speed, perhaps because they were being extra cautious because they sensed on some level that their driving abilities were impaired.
The researchers concluded that adding driving data to the mix of available clinical data, including results on memory tests, could help to predict who might go on to develop Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia. Being aware of how someone drives could help catch brain changes early, before any car crashes happen, they say.
“Early identification of older drivers who are at risk for accidents is a public health priority, but identifying people who are unsafe is challenging and time-consuming,” said study author Ganesh M. Babulal. “We found that using a GPS data tracking device, we could more accurately determine who had developed cognitive issues than looking at just factors such as age, cognitive test scores and whether they had a genetic risk factor related to Alzheimer’s disease.” The findings were published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
The GPS tracking device the researchers used in the study was the Azuga G2 from Azuga, Inc. That and similar GPS devices that plug into cars are commercially available for about $25 to $35 per month.
Earlier studies of driving and dementia have found that adults with mild cognitive impairment or in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease consistently perform worse on road tests and driving simulation tests than their peers without cognitive impairments. One study found that the likelihood of having a car crash increased nearly five-fold in the three years preceding a dementia diagnosis.
Unfortunately, many older adults with impaired cognitive skills remain unaware of their declining abilities and continue to drive. In many cases, tests to assess driving skills are initiated only after an older person has a car accident. Use of GPS tracking data could help to identify those at risk at earlier stages, the results of this study show.
“Looking at people’s daily driving behavior is a relatively low-burden, unobtrusive way to monitor people’s cognitive skills and ability to function,” Dr. Babulal said. “This could help identify drivers who are at risk earlier for early intervention, before they have a crash or near miss.”
By ALZinfo.org, The Alzheimer’s Information Site. Reviewed by Eric Schmidt, Ph.D., Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation at The Rockefeller University.
Source: Ling Chen, David B. Carr, Ramkrishna K. Singh, et al: “Association of Daily Driving Behaviors With Mild Cognitive Impairment in Older Adults Followed Over 10 Years.” Neurology, November 26, 2025
