Measuring Divided-Attention Capability of Young and Older Drivers

Abstract

A divided-attention task was used to measure the ability of young and older drivers to obtain information from an in-vehicle display. Performance with the in-vehicle display was compared with performance with information superimposed on the driving scene. Ten young and 10 older drivers drove on a curvy road by using a fixed-based driving simulator. Older drivers were less accurate in obtaining information from the in-vehicle display, the average lane-position error of older drivers was greater, and older drivers spent more time driving outside their lanes. These results suggest that the use of in-vehicle displays, in their present configuration, is not appropriate for older drivers. When viewing information superimposed on the driving scene, older drivers were much more accurate and controlled their vehicles better. This indicates that the poor performance of older drivers with the in-vehicle display was due to vision-related changes, such as longer eye accommodation times, rather than cognitive processes.