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"CHOKING UNDER PRESSURE" IN OLDER DRIVERS
Kuan-Hua Chen1, Steven W Anderson1, Michelle L Rusch1
1University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA.
Proceedings of the ... International Driving Symposium on Human Factors in Driver Assessment, Training, and Vehicle Design
|May 3, 2016
Summary
Older drivers struggle with safe left turns under pressure, unlike middle-aged drivers. Age-related declines in executive control impact driving decisions, especially in stressful traffic situations.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Cognitive Psychology
- Transportation Safety
Background:
- Aging is associated with declines in executive control and emotion regulation.
- These cognitive changes can negatively impact driver decision-making and behavior, particularly under stressful conditions.
- Understanding these age-related effects is crucial for ensuring road safety.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how age influences drivers' ability to make safe left turns across oncoming traffic under pressure.
- To examine the impact of stress (aggressive honking) on the decision-making processes of older and middle-aged drivers.
- To explore the relationship between executive function and driving performance in different age groups.
Main Methods:
- Utilized an interactive driving simulator to assess left-turn decisions at an uncontrolled intersection.
- Compared performance of 13 older drivers (>65 years) and 16 middle-aged drivers (35-56 years).
- Introduced a pressure condition (aggressive honking) versus a control condition (no honking) with varying oncoming traffic gaps.
Main Results:
- Middle-aged drivers exhibited more cautious decisions under pressure, accepting larger gaps (p < .001).
- Older drivers did not adjust their gap acceptance under pressure and showed increased turning path deviations (p < .05).
- Better executive function correlated with larger accepted gap increases under pressure across all participants (p < .01).
Conclusions:
- Older drivers are more susceptible to environmental pressure and traffic challenges.
- Age-related changes in executive control and emotion processing significantly affect older driver performance and safety.
- Neural models of driving safety must incorporate age-related cognitive and emotional regulatory changes.