The effect of fuel prices on the driving patterns of older adults

•Data were gathered from autonomous recording devices in participants’ vehicles.•Fuel prices were negatively associated with driving distance.•Fuel prices were positively associated with speeding and acceleration patterns.•Effect sizes were small, suggesting that older adults continue to drive. Examining environmental factors that influence older adults’ driving patterns has important implications for understanding factors that can lead to self-regulation and cessation. The current study explored the effect of fuel prices on older adults’ driving patterns using objective data from the nationwide Candrive longitudinal study (N = 807). Fuel prices were negatively associated with driving distance and positively associated with speeding and acceleration pattern. Specifically, on occasions when fuel prices were high, older adults drove less often but were speeding and accelerating more. However, the magnitudes of the effects were small, suggesting that older adults continue to rely on their vehicles for community mobility, despite variations in fuel prices.