Developing a driving simulator based functional object detection task

The purpose of this study was to validate a driving simulator-based tool for assessing functional visual scanning while driving (Goodenough, 2010) by replicating a previous study and assessing whether the results of the task are moderated by strategic decisions regarding task prioritization. Participants completed a functional object detection task that includes a peripheral target detection task and a central braking response task. Results indicated that the simulator task can identify differences in older and younger participants' abilities to functionally scan the driving environment and these differences appear unaffected by prioritizing either the scanning or braking task. Implications are discussed.