Tennis playing is related to psychomotor speed in older drivers

The study investigated the association of tennis playing and running with the psychomotor speed of older drivers. Thirty-six active male drivers (M age = 63.2 yr.) participated. A battery of four on-the road driving tests was performed by tennis players, runners, and a control group. Measures of simple and choice reaction time, movement time, and response time were collected under single- and dual-task conditions. A composite driving score was calculated from reaction time measures of all driving tasks to reflect a general drivers' psychomotor speed. Statistically significant differences between groups were found in a braking task; tennis players performed significantly better than controls in simple reaction time and response time. The composite driving score also differed between groups, and tennis players had better results than controls. Regular participation in tennis was related to psychomotor speed of older drivers.