Older Commercial Vehicle Drivers: Abilities,Age,and Driving Performance

Abstract

This research reports upon a series of related studies which involved investigations of fifteen human abilities, their changes which occur with aging, and their effects upon commercial truck driving performance. One-hundred and seven commercially licensed truck drivers, divided into five age cohort groups, participated in the research study. An ability testbed was used to measure 15 driving related perceptual, cognitive, and psychomotor abilities. Driving performance was assessed using an interactive commercial truck driving simulator. Relationships between perceptual, cognitive, and psychomotor abilities and measures of driving performance indicated that functional levels on these tasks and driving performance were significantly related; however, age, in and of itself, was not predictive of driving performance.

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