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Effects of ageing on taxi driving
Annals of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore
|January 1, 1987
Summary
Older taxi drivers aged 45+ showed poorer health and psychomotor skills, but their work capacity and accident records were similar to younger drivers. Ageing did not significantly impact overall job performance or safety.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Occupational Health
- Transportation Safety
Background:
- Ageing can affect physiological and cognitive functions relevant to driving.
- Understanding these effects in professional drivers is crucial for safety and policy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of ageing on the health, psychomotor performance, and occupational outcomes of taxi drivers in Singapore.
Main Methods:
- A comparative study involving 256 taxi drivers, categorized into two age groups: below 45 years and 45 years or older.
- Health assessments included visual acuity, blood pressure, and glucosuria.
- Psychophysiological tests measured reaction time, psychomotor dexterity, eye-hand coordination, and discrimination errors.
Main Results:
- Older drivers exhibited significantly higher prevalence of glucosuria and poorer visual acuity.
- Elevated blood pressure was more common in older drivers.
- Older drivers showed significantly poorer psychomotor and reaction time performance.
- Despite health and performance differences, older drivers had comparable working hours, mileage, and accident records.
Conclusions:
- While ageing is associated with certain physiological and cognitive declines in taxi drivers, these changes did not translate to reduced work capacity or increased accident liability.
- Professional driving roles may accommodate age-related changes effectively, suggesting that experience and other factors compensate for performance decrements.
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