title: Relative effects of age and compromised vision on driving performance.
abstract: The aim of this study was to determine the relative effects of age and compromised vision on driving-related skills and on-road accidents. A total of 107 subjects were tested. They represented four groups that varied in age and visual status, as follows: (1) a younger, normally sighted group; (2) an older, normally sighted group; (3) a younger, visually compromised group; and (4) an older, visually compromised group. Driving performance was assessed by self-reported and state-recorded accident frequency and by an evaluation of performance on an interactive driving simulator. The older groups had poorer driving-related skills, as measured with our interactive driving simulator, than had the younger groups, but they did not have significantly higher on-road accident rates than the younger groups. The older subjects and those with compromised vision had reduced risk-taking scores, as measured with a self-report questionnaire. In addition, all older drivers had increased eye movements and had slower simulator driving speeds, which suggests that behavioral compensation is made for visuocognitive/motor deficits. Regression analyses showed that compromised vision and visual field loss predicted real-world accidents in our study population.
authors.affiliation: West Side Veterans Administration Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Szlyk
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Seiple
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Viana
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001334:Automobile Driving; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology; D003198:Computer Simulation; D005133:Eye Movements / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012309:Risk-Taking; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014785:Vision, Ocular / Q000502:physiology