title: Training the elderly in pedestrian safety: Transfer effect between two virtual reality simulation devices.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  A virtual-reality training program has been developed to help older pedestrians make safer street-crossing decisions in two-way traffic situations. The aim was to develop a small-scale affordable and transportable simulation device that allowed transferring effects to a full-scale device involving actual walking.
  
  
  METHODS
  20 younger adults and 40 older participants first participated in a pre-test phase to assess their street crossings using both full-scale and small-scale simulation devices. Then, a trained older group (20 participants) completed two 1.5-h training sessions with the small-scale device, whereas an older control group received no training (19 participants). Thereafter, the 39 older trained and untrained participants took part in a 1.5-h post-test phase again with both devices.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Pre-test phase results suggested significant differences between both devices in the group of older participants only. Unlike younger participants, older participants accepted more often to cross and had more collisions on the small-scale simulation device than on the full-scale one. Post-test phase results showed that training older participants on the small-scale device allowed a significant global decrease in the percentage of accepted crossings and collisions on both simulation devices. But specific improvements regarding the way participants took into account the speed of approaching cars and vehicles in the far lane were notable only on the full-scale simulation device.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings suggest that the small-scale simulation device triggers a greater number of unsafe decisions compared to a full-scale one that allows actual crossings. But findings reveal that such a small-scale simulation device could be a good means to improve the safety of street-crossing decisions and behaviors among older pedestrians, suggesting a transfer of learning effect between the two simulation devices, from training people with a miniature device to measuring their specific progress with a full-scale one.
authors.affiliation: Paris Descartes University, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Laboratory TEC EA 3625, Paris, France; The French Institute of Science and Technology for Transport, Development and Networks, Laboratory for Road Operations, Perception, Simulators and Simulations, Versailles, France. Electronic address: pauline.maillot@parisdescartes.fr.
authors.forename: Pauline
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Maillot
authors.affiliation: The French Institute of Science and Technology for Transport, Development and Networks, Laboratory for Road Operations, Perception, Simulators and Simulations, Versailles, France.
authors.forename: Aurélie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dommes
authors.affiliation: The French Institute of Science and Technology for Transport, Development and Networks, Laboratory for Road Operations, Perception, Simulators and Simulations, Versailles, France.
authors.forename: Nguyen-Thong
authors.initials: NT
authors.lastname: Dang
authors.affiliation: The French Institute of Science and Technology for Transport, Development and Networks, Laboratory for Road Operations, Perception, Simulators and Simulations, Versailles, France.
authors.forename: Fabrice
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vienne
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004215:Distance Perception / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D000069636:Pedestrians / Q000523:psychology*; D012449:Safety / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016138:Walking / Q000523:psychology
keywords: Aging; Street-crossing; Training; Transfer effect; Virtual reality