Age differences in estimating vehicle velocity.
Automobile accidents among older adults may be related to difficulties in judging the speed of other vehicles. To examine this possibility, 3 groups of observers in the young adult, middle-aged, and older adult age ranges were asked to estimate the velocity of an isolated automobile traveling at 15-50 mph (24-80 kph). Across all age groups, perceived and actual velocity were related by a power function with an exponent of 1.36. Age was significantly and positively correlated with intercepts, but negatively correlated with exponents; that is, older observers showed less sensitivity to changes in actual velocity. Results bear on the issues of ontogenetic changes in accident involvement and sensitivity to motion.
Scialfa
C T
CT
Pennsylvania State University.
Guzy
L T
LT
Leibowitz
H W
HW
Garvey
P M
PM
Tyrrell
R A
RA
D000054:Acceleration; D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000523:psychology*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000523:psychology*; D004193:Discrimination Learning; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009039:Motion Perception; D011601:Psychophysics; D012307:Risk Factors