Ageing and driving: Examining the effects of visual processing demands

Abstract

► Being able to respond quickly and carry out tasks concurrently are essential for safe driving. ► Elderly have longer response times in comparison with younger groups when driving. ► Older drivers have greater difficulty in responding to the complex visual situations. Being able to respond quickly and carry out tasks concurrently are essential ingredients for safe driving. Both abilities decline with age and thus can compromise driving safety in elderly motorists. We examine this nexus by comparing the performance of a younger adult group (35–45 y) with an older one (+65 y) while completing three dual tasks in a driving simulator: one requiring a simple time reaction response with low visual complexity (Condition 1), another constituting a choice reaction task (Condition 2) and a third simple reaction time task, but with increased visual complexity (Condition 3). There was no significant difference between the two groups in Condition 1. The older group, however, was 27% slower in Condition 2, the choice reaction time task, and 46% slower in Condition 3. There were no differences in error rates for any condition. Future directions in research on ageing and driving abilities as well as the shortcomings of the study are discussed.