Differences in Simulated Car Following Behavior of Younger and Older Drivers

Details

• Personal Author:
  Dastrup E ; Dawson JD ; Lee JD ; Lees MN ; Rizzo M
• Description:
  Older drivers are at risk for vehicle crashes due to impairments of visual processing and attention, placing these drivers at greater risk in driving tasks that require continuous attention to neighboring traffic, especially lead vehicles (LVs). We investigated car following behavior in 42 younger drivers (ages 18 to 44 years) and 58 older drivers (ages 65 to 86 years) in a driving simulator. The drivers were instructed to maintain two car lengths from a virtual LV. The LV varied its velocity according to a sum of three sine waves, making the velocity changes unpredictable to the drivers. A Fourier analysis was performed using the vehicle trajectory data to derive measures of coherence, gain, and delay as indices of car following behavior. These measures as well as headway distance were compared between the two groups. Older drivers were less able to match changes in the LV velocity indicated by lower coherence (0.76 v. 0.84, p=0.019) and larger gain 2.24 v. 1.74, p=0.031). However, these drivers followed further behind the LV than younger drivers, a potential compensatory strategy that may reduce collision risk for older drivers. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accidents, Occupational Age Factors Aging Automobiles Behavior Eye Nervous System Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Sense Organs Vision Disorders

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• Keywords:
  Accident Potential Age Factors Age Groups Automobile Safety Behavior Patterns Cognitive Function Computerized Simulation Drivers Humans Motor Vehicles Risk Factors Safety Practices Safety Research Simulation Methods Vision Disorders Visual Motor Performance

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• ISBN:
  9780874141627
• Publisher:
  University of Iowa Public Policy Center
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  Iowa ; Montana ; OSHA Region 7 ; OSHA Region 8
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  76-82
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20063227
• Citation:
  Driving Assessment 2009: Proceedings of the 5th International Driving Symposium on Human Factors in Driving Assessment, Training and Vehicle Design, June 22-25, 2009, Big Sky, Montana. Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa Public Policy Center, 2009 Jun; :76-82
• Contact Point Address:
  Elizabeth Dastrup, Department of Biostatistics, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2009
• Performing Organization:
  University of Iowa
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Driving Assessment 2009: Proceedings of the 5th International Driving Symposium on Human Factors in Driving Assessment, Training and Vehicle Design, June 22-25, 2009, Big Sky, Montana
• End Date:
  20290630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:ea33b2f728d56412dddd7eac02c476be4aa5e5af1d26ce1ebd6e14ee40faedbb43cdb588df25b5089c181842b562d0223757a27cd4a4922b2ca90d0cc4159713
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/226324/cdc_226324_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 183.56 KB ]