Citation

Lee J, Mehler B, Reimer B, Ebe K, Coughlin JF. J. Gerontol. B Psychol. Sci. Soc. Sci. 2018; 73(7): 1190-1197.

Affiliation

MIT AgeLab and New England University Transportation Center, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Gerontological Society of America, Publisher Oxford University Press)

DOI

10.1093/geronb/gbw131

PMID

27698013

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Research has established that long off-road glances increase crash risk, and other work has shown increased off-road glance behavior in older drivers. This study investigated the relationship between older drivers' (M = 66.3, range 61-69 years) cognitive abilities and the duration of off-road glances while engaged in secondary visual-manual activities.

METHOD: Twenty-two drivers completed the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) prior to driving an instrumented vehicle and completing a set of radio-tuning tasks. Glance behavior was recorded and manually coded into 7 glance regions (toward the forward roadway, instrument cluster, center stack, rearview mirror, left, right, and other).

RESULTS: On average, older drivers with higher MoCA scores used shorter glances and glanced away from the forward roadway for less total time when manually tuning the radio.

DISCUSSION: These findings suggest that lower MoCA scores may represent a driving force behind the "age" differences reported in earlier studies of off-road glance behavior. Questions are raised concerning the identification of MoCA scores that might be used as inclusion cut-points in driving research and in identifying individuals needing further evaluation related to suitability for continuance of driving.

© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Language: en