Distracted driving in elderly and middle-aged drivers (original) (raw)
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Effects of a Controlled Auditory–Verbal Distraction Task on Older Driver Vehicle Control
Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2004
Engaging in conversation diverts attention from cognitive processes associated with driving. Drivers tend to commit errors that may lead to crashes when their attention is focused away from the driving task. The interference occurs at the level of central attentional processes that are especially susceptible to aging. The current study assessed the effects of a controlled auditory—verbal processing load induced by the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task (PASAT) on vehicle control by 160 legally licensed older drivers. Of these drivers, 78 were neurologically normal (mean age of 71 years) and 82 (mean age of 75 years) had impairments of selective attention but no diagnosable neurological disease. Measurements aboard the instrumented vehicle Automobile for Research in Ergonomics and Safety showed that performing the PASAT reduced speed and steering control of the older drivers relative to baseline (no-task) driving conditions and was associated with greater counts of at-fault safety e...
Naturalistic Distraction and Driving Safety in Older Drivers
Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 2013
Objective: In this study, we aimed to quantify and compare performance of middle-aged and older drivers during a naturalistic distraction paradigm (visual search for roadside targets) and to predict older drivers' performance given functioning in visual, motor, and cognitive domains.
2017
Inexperienced younger (29), middle-aged (29), and older drivers (25) participated in a study evaluating the effects of auditory cognitive distractions on driving safety. Unlike prior research, the secondary tasks were typical of everyday behavior such as listening to a story and participating in a radio quiz. The study also examined driving performance more broadly than prior studies. Outcome measures included speed and lateral control similar to prior studies but in addition included headway maintenance, mean headway time, gap acceptance, mirror use, proper signaling, stopping behavior, intersection scanning. Performance was evaluated in a wider range of driving tasks than prior studies (e.g. included gap tasks such as lane changes, freeway merges, left turns in addition to straightaway car-following). Results showed that older drivers were affected the most by these distractions and that performance was often degraded beyond speed and lateral control to include signaling, mirror u...
Accident Analysis & Prevention, 2006
This paper presents the findings of a simulator study that examined the effects of distraction upon driving performance for drivers in three age groups. There were two in-vehicle distracter tasks: operating the vehicle entertainment system and conducting a simulated hands-free mobile phone conversation. The effect of visual clutter was examined by requiring participants to drive in simple and complex road environments. Overall measures of driving performance were collected, together with responses to roadway hazards and subjective measures of driver perceived workload. The two in-vehicle distraction tasks degraded overall driving performance, degraded responses to hazards and increased subjective workload. The performance decrements that occurred as a result of in-vehicle distraction were observed in both the simple and complex highway environments and for drivers in different age groups. One key difference was that older drivers traveled at lower mean speeds in the complex highway environment compared with younger drivers. The conclusions of the research are that both in-vehicle tasks impaired several aspects of driving performance, with the entertainment system distracter having the greatest negative impact on performance, and that these findings were relatively stable across different driver age groups and different environmental complexities.
Awareness of Performance Decrements Due to Distraction in Younger and Older Drivers
2000
Although many studies have documented the performance decrements associated with driver distractions, few have examined drivers' awareness of these distraction effects. The current study purports to measure how wellcalibrated drivers are with respect to their own performance when distracted. Forty drivers completed a series of tasks on a hand-held or hands-free cell phone while driving an instrumented vehicle around a closed test track. Subjective estimates of performance decrements were recorded and compared to actual decrements observed on multiple measures of driving performance. Although their driving performance suffered in dual-task conditions, drivers were generally not well-calibrated to the magnitude of the distraction effects (r = -.38 to .16). In some cases, estimates of distraction were opposite of the observed effects (i.e., smaller estimates of distraction corresponded to larger performance deficits). There were some age and gender differences. We discuss the implications of these findings for potential mitigation strategies for distracted driving.
The effects of age on crash risk associated with driver distraction
International journal of epidemiology, 2016
Driver distraction is a major contributing factor to crashes, which are the leading cause of death for the US population under 35 years of age. The prevalence of secondary-task engagement and its impacts on distraction and crashes may vary substantially by driver age. Driving performance and behaviour data were collected continuously using multiple cameras and sensors in situ for 3542 participant drivers recruited for up to 3 years for the Second Strategic Highway Research Program Naturalistic Driving Study. Secondary-task engagement at the onset of crashes and during normal driving segments was identified from videos. A case-cohort approach was used to estimate the crash odds ratios associated with, and the prevalence of, secondary tasks for four age groups: 16-20, 21-29, 30-64 and 65-98 years of age. Only severe crashes (property damage and higher severity) were included in the analysis. Secondary-task-induced distraction posed a consistently higher threat for drivers younger than...
The Impact of Distraction Mitigation Strategies on Driving Performance
Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 2006
Objectives: An experiment was conducted to assess the effects of distraction mitigation strategies on drivers? performance and productivity while engaged in an in-vehicle information system task. Background: Previous studies show that in-vehicle tasks undermine driver safety and there is a need to mitigate driver distraction. Method: An advising strategy that alerts drivers to potential dangers and a locking strategy that prevents the driver from continuing the distracting task were presented to 16 middle-aged and 12 older drivers in a driving simulator in two modes (auditory, visual) and two road conditions (curves, braking events). Results: Distraction was a problem for both age groups. Visual distractions were more detrimental than auditory ones for curve negotiation, as depicted by more erratic steering, F(6, 155) = 26.76, p < .05. Drivers did brake more abruptly under auditory distractions, but this effect was mitigated by both the advising, t(155) = 8.37, p < .05, and lo...
On Attentional Control and the Aging Driver
Internet Use and Information Access Needs
Theories of cognitive aging suggest diminished frontal lobe function and reduced attentional control could contribute to age-related changes in driving a motor vehicle. To address this possibility, the authors investigated the interrelationship among age, attentional control, and driving performance. Using a high-fidelity simulator, they measured individual differences in participants’ abilities to maintain a prescribed following distance behind a lead vehicle, as well as their reaction time to press a brake pedal when this lead vehicle braked. Consistent with the literature on age-related changes in driving, following distance elongated with increased age, and brake reaction time slowed. Furthermore, regression analyses revealed the increase in following distance and the slowing in brake reaction time both co-varied with age deficits in attentional control. These results provide a novel demonstration of the inherent value of cognitive theory when applied to naturalistic settings, s...
The objective was to establish a systematic framework for measuring and understanding cognitive distraction in the automobile. Background: Driver distraction from secondary in-vehicle activities is increasingly recognized as a significant source of injuries and fatalities on the roadway. Method: Across three studies, participants completed eight in-vehicle tasks commonly performed by the driver of an automobile. Primary, secondary, subjective, and physiological measures were collected and integrated into a cognitive distraction scale. Results: In-vehicle activities, such as listening to the radio or an audio book, were associated with a low level of cognitive workload; the conversation activities of talking to a passenger in the vehicle or conversing with a friend on a handheld or hands-free cell phone were associated with a moderate level of cognitive workload; and using a speech-to-text interfaced e-mail system involved a high level of cognitive workload. Conclusion: The research established that there are significant impairments to driving that stem from the diversion of attention from the task of operating a motor vehicle and that the impairments to driving are directly related to the cognitive workload of these in-vehicle activities. Moreover, the adoption of voicebased systems in the vehicle may have unintended consequences that adversely affect traffic safety. Application: These findings can be used to help inform scientifically based policies on driver distraction, particularly as they relate to cognitive distraction stemming from the diversion of attention to other concurrent activities in the vehicle.
Aging and Driving II: Implications of Cognitive Changes
2013
In this paper, we review and discuss a number of age-related changes in cognitive capabilities and their implications on driving performance and safety. Previous research has shown that older drivers can exhibit performance degradation and a reduction in safety margin because of the relative decline in sensory/perceptual, cognitive abilities, as well as the slowing in motor response. We begin by reviewing and evaluating extant theories of cognitive change and the mechanisms that underlie such variation. Then we examine how these changes are manifested and influenced by advancing age. Third, we examine the impact of these age-related cognitive changes on driver performance. Finally, we outline the importance of these findings for intelligent transportation systems design, driver distraction and driver workload, and ultimately transportation safety in an aging society.