Visual Search Strategies of Older Drivers at Rural Expressway Intersections

Abstract

Studies show that older drivers are at a greater risk for crashes at unsignalized intersections. The objective of this study is to examine the visual search pattern of older drivers as they begin one of three drive maneuvers (i.e., left turn, right turn, and straight across) at two different rural expressway intersections (i.e., high and low crash areas). Twenty drivers participated in this study with 10 older drivers (65–80 years old) and 10 middle-aged drivers (35–55 years old) used as a comparison group. Results show that older drivers used significantly less search time to get ready for all maneuvers when compared to middle-aged drivers. There was also an interaction effect with older drivers taking significantly less search time during higher traffic volumes. Middle-aged drivers would search for potential hazards and wait for an appropriate gap distance before entering into the intersection.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Anstey

Wood

Lord

Walker

(2005). Cognitive, sensory and physical factors enabling driving safety in older adults. Clinical psychology Review, 25(1), 45 65.

Ball

Owsley

Sloane

Roenker

Bruni

(1993). Visual attention problems as a predictor of vehicle crashes in older drivers, Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 34, 3110–3123.

Blomqvist

(1993). Fatal accidents of older drivers. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 25(1), 19 27.

Caird

J. K.

Edwards

C. J.

Creaser

J. I.

Horrey

W. J.

(2005). Older driver failures of attention at intersections: Using change blindness methods to assess turn decision accuracy. Human Factors, 47(2), 235 249.

Drakopoulos

Lyles

R. W.

(1997). Driver age as a factor in comprehension of left-turn signals. Paper presented at the Transportation Research Board.

Federal Highway Administration [FHWA] (1998). Older Driver Highway Design Handbook, Report No. FHWA-RD-97–135, Washington, DC.

Guerriera

J. H.

Manivannanb

Nair

S. N.

(1999). The role of working memory, field dependence, visual search, and reaction time in the left turn performance of older female drivers. Applied Ergonomics, 30(2), 109 119.

Hochstein

Maze

Welch

Preston

Storm

(2007) Potential rural expressway intersection safety treatments. Paper presented Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2007 Paper #07-1018.

McGwin

Brown

(1999). Characteristics of traffic crashes among young, middle-aged, and older drivers. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 31(3), 181 198.

10.

Preusser

D. F.

Williams

A. F.

Ferguson

S. A.

Ulmer

R. G.

Weinstein

H. B.

(1998). Fatal crash risk for older drivers at intersections. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 30(2), 151 159.

11.

Retchin

Cox

Fox

Irwin

(1988). Performance-based measurements among elderly drivers and non-drivers. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 36, 813 819.

12.

Robinson

G. H.

Erickson

D. J.

Thurston

G. L.

Clark

R. L.

(1972). Visual search by automobile drivers. Human Factors, 14(4), 315 323.

13.

Schiff

Oldak

Shah

(1992). Aging person's estimates of vehicular motion. Psychology and Aging, 7, 518 525.

14.

Scialfa

Thomas

Joffe

(1994). Age differences in the useful field of view: An eye movement analysis. Optometry and Vision Science, 71, 736 742.

15.

Stamatiadis

Taylor

McKelvey

(1991). Elderly drivers and intersection accidents. Transportation Quarterly, 45(3), 377 390.

16.

Staplin

(1995). Simulator and Field Measures of Driver Age Differences in Left Turn Gap Judgments. Paper presented at the Transportation Research Board.

17.

Staplin

Lyles

R. W.

(1991). Age differences in motion perception and specific traffic maneuver problems. Transportation Research Board, 1485, 49 55.