Comparing the driving performance of average and older drivers: The effect of surrogate in-vehicle information systems

Merat, Natasha; Anttila, Virpi; Luoma, Juha · 2005 · Crossref

DOI: 10.1016/j.trf.2005.04.011

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Summary

This study investigates how age affects driving performance when drivers interact with surrogate In-Vehicle Information Systems (S-IVIS). Motivated by the growing population of older drivers and the increasing prevalence of in-car technology, the research aims to determine if older adults are more susceptible to distraction and performance degradation than average-aged drivers. The study specifically examines the impact of visual and cognitive secondary tasks on driving safety, addressing concerns that age-related psychophysiological declines may impair an older driver’s ability to manage complex traffic situations while using IVIS. The research was conducted as part of the EU-funded HASTE project, utilizing two distinct methodologies: a driving simulator study in Leeds, UK, and field trials in Finland. Participants were divided into two groups: "average" drivers aged 25–50 and older drivers over 60. Two surrogate tasks were employed to simulate IVIS usage: a visual task ("Arrows") requiring visual attention and an auditory continuous memory task (aCMT) imposing cognitive demand. In the simulator, participants drove rural road scenarios of varying complexity while performing the aCMT. In the field trials, drivers performed both tasks on rural roads while vehicle data and observer ratings were collected. The results indicated that average drivers consistently outperformed older drivers on the secondary tasks, both in isolation and while driving. In the simulator, older drivers showed significantly worse lateral control during curves and abandoned the cognitive task during high-workload driving events to prioritize vehicle control. While older drivers adopted safer baseline strategies (lower speeds, longer headways), the addition of the S-IVIS tasks degraded these compensatory behaviors, leading to reduced safety margins. Field trial results revealed that older drivers exhibited greater speed variation, poorer lane keeping (higher steering reversal rates), and closer car-following distances when using the visual Arrows task. Observational data confirmed that older drivers displayed more inappropriate speed behaviors and failed to adjust to speed limit changes more frequently than average drivers when distracted. The findings suggest that while older drivers may drive conservatively under normal conditions, their performance deteriorates significantly more than that of average drivers when subjected to secondary tasks. The visual task had a more profound negative impact on older drivers' longitudinal and lateral control in real-world settings. The study concludes that IVIS design must account for the specific limitations of older users, particularly regarding visual complexity and cognitive load, to ensure safety. The discrepancy between simulator and field results also highlights the importance of validating driving performance studies in real-world environments.

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Topics

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• older drivers
• age related perceptual decline
• cognitive capacity variation
• mci dementia driving
• mental demand
• older driver retraining

Information type

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• Empirical Findings: behavioral performance data, observational prevalence
• Theoretical Contribution: theory or model