Attention Allocation in Gaze of Young, Middle-Aged and Elderly Drivers During Driving Simulations

Poll, Anamarija; Tollazzi, Tomaž; Gruden, Chiara · 2025 · Sustainability

DOI: 10.3390/su17177927

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Summary

This study investigates the attention allocation and gaze behavior of elderly drivers compared to young and middle-aged drivers, addressing the growing road safety concerns associated with Europe’s aging population. With the number of individuals over 65 projected to rise significantly by 2050, understanding the specific driving limitations of this demographic is critical for sustainable safety frameworks. The research aims to identify driving patterns leading to accidents, assess elderly drivers' perception of safety, and objectively measure their visual scanning behaviors. The authors hypothesized that older drivers would exhibit slower speeds, longer reaction times, reduced knowledge of traffic regulations, and decreased visual attention to critical driving elements such as mirrors. The methodology comprised a multi-stage approach involving traffic accident analysis, a questionnaire survey, and a controlled driving simulator experiment. Thirty volunteers were recruited and evenly distributed across three age groups: young (25–44 years), middle-aged (45–65 years), and elderly (65+ years), with balanced gender representation. Participants were required to hold a valid license and possess normal vision to ensure compatibility with eye-tracking technology. The experimental phase utilized a TouringSim driving simulator to standardize driving conditions and Tobii PRO 2 eye-tracking glasses to record gaze fixations. Prior to the simulation, participants completed a 25-item questionnaire covering personal data, driving experience, self-assessed driving style, and knowledge of traffic regulations. The simulator session included a test drive to acclimate participants and an experimental drive where objective data on driving performance and eye movements were collected. The results indicated significant differences in performance among the three age groups. Elderly drivers demonstrated poorer reaction times and overlooked many critical traffic elements compared to their younger counterparts. The data supported the hypothesis that age-related cognitive and motor declines negatively impact driving performance, manifesting as slower driving speeds and delayed responses. Furthermore, the study found that older drivers shifted their visual scanning behavior, allocating less visual attention to important components of the driving task, such as vehicle mirrors. These findings align with previous literature suggesting that elderly drivers have restricted visual fields and lower adaptability to complex driving scenarios, which increases their vulnerability to accidents. The significance of this research lies in its contribution to the Sustainable Safety Approach by highlighting the specific human factors affecting elderly drivers. By quantifying the attention deficits and slower reaction times in this demographic, the study provides evidence that elderly drivers are more vulnerable and fallible than average road users. The findings underscore the need for targeted interventions, such as improved road infrastructure design or specialized driver training, to accommodate the declining physical and mental abilities of older drivers. Ultimately, the study emphasizes that while elderly drivers may have more experience, their reduced cognitive functions and altered gaze behavior pose distinct risks to road safety, necessitating further investigation into compensatory strategies and supportive technologies.

Key finding

Across simulator hazards and AoI gaze metrics, elderly drivers showed markedly longer reaction times (~67-74% longer than younger groups) and longer, less diverse fixations (~68% longer average fixation duration) and overlooked the majority of missed roadway elements, indicating a narrowed, slower visual-attention strategy rather than a knowledge deficit.

Methodology

simulator

Sample size: N=30 (10 young 25-44, 10 middle-aged 45-65, 10 elderly 65+; 15F/15M).

Provenance

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Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.

Topics

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

• older drivers
• attention allocation
• eye movements scanning
• useful field of view
• looked but failed to see
• age related perceptual decline

Information type

What kind of knowledge this paper contributes, grouped by family — independent of topic (what it is about) and method (how it was studied).

• Empirical Findings: behavioral performance data, observational prevalence
• Methodological Resource: tool software