The effects of an exercise program on several abilities associated with driving performance in older adults

Marmeleira, José; Godinho, Mário; Fernandes, Orlando · 2008 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.1016/j.aap.2008.09.008

archive: archived pipeline: cataloged verified

Get this paper ↗ (DOI — opens at the source; we link to it, we don't host it)

Summary

This study investigates the impact of a structured exercise program on specific abilities critical for driving performance in older adults. The research addresses the need to identify interventions that can mitigate age-related declines in the physical, cognitive, and perceptive skills required for safe driving. By targeting these specific domains, the authors aim to determine whether exercise can serve as a viable strategy for enhancing driving safety and maintaining independence in this demographic. The experimental design involved thirty-two subjects aged 60 to 82 years, who were randomly assigned to either an exercise group (n = 16) or a control group (n = 16). The intervention lasted for 12 weeks, consisting of three 60-minute sessions per week. The exercise program was specifically designed to stress perceptive, cognitive, and physical abilities. Assessments were conducted both before and after the intervention period to evaluate changes in several key metrics: behavioral speed (measured under both single-task and dual-task conditions), visual attention, psychomotor performance, speed perception (specifically time-to-contact), and executive functioning. This pre-post design allowed for a direct comparison of the effects of the exercise regimen against the control condition. The results demonstrated significant positive effects in the exercise group at the 12-week follow-up. Improvements in behavioral speed were observed across reaction time, movement time, and response time, with benefits evident in both single-task and dual-task conditions. Visual attention also showed significant gains, particularly in speed processing and divided attention capabilities. Furthermore, psychomotor performance improved, specifically regarding lower limb mobility. These findings indicate that the targeted exercise program successfully enhanced multiple abilities that are directly relevant to driving performance. The study concludes that exercise is capable of enhancing several abilities essential for driving performance and safety in older adults. Given the significant improvements in reaction times, attention, and physical mobility, the authors recommend promoting such exercise programs as a means to support driving safety in this population. The findings suggest that interventions focusing on the integration of physical, cognitive, and perceptive training can effectively counteract age-related declines in driving-relevant skills. This supports the broader implication that structured physical activity should be considered a valuable component of strategies aimed at maintaining the driving competence and safety of older individuals.

Provenance

The full processing record for this entry. Every stage of this paper's journey through the pipeline is logged — what ran, with which tool and model, how many attempts it took, and when it last completed.

Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-26; verification: verified.

Topics

Ranked by relevance to this paper. Hover a topic for its definition.

• older driver retraining
• cognitive capacity variation
• mci dementia driving
• age related perceptual decline
• older drivers
• useful field of view