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Individual differences in cognitive functioning predict effectiveness of a heads-up lane departure warning for younger and older drivers
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Individual differences in cognitive functioning predict effectiveness of a heads-up lane departure warning for younger and older drivers

Nazan Aksan, Lauren Sager, Sarah Hacker, Benjamin Lester, Jeffrey Dawson, Matthew Rizzo, Kazutoshi Ebe and James Foley
Accident analysis and prevention, Vol.99(Pt A), pp.171-183
02/2017
DOI: 10.1016/j.aap.2016.11.003
PMCID: PMC5285399
PMID: 27898370
url
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/5285399View
Open Access

Abstract

•Heads-up lane-departure warning produces large safety benefits for older drivers.•Cognitive speed of processing predicts lane-keeping performance for both older & younger drivers.•Memory, visuospatial construction, and executive function predict lane-keeping performance for older but not younger drivers.•Cognitive functioning does not predict changes in the long-term effectiveness of LDW. The effectiveness of an idealized lane departure warning (LDW) was evaluated in an interactive fixed base driving simulator. Thirty-eight older (mean age=77years) and 40 younger drivers (mean age=35years) took four different drives/routes similar in road culture composition and hazards encountered with and without LDW. The four drives were administered over visits separated approximately by two weeks to examine changes in long-term effectiveness of LDW. Performance metrics were number of LDW activations and average correction time to each LDW. LDW reduced correction time to re-center the vehicle by 1.34s on average (95% CI=1.12–1.57s) but did not reduce the number of times the drivers drifted enough in their lanes to activate the system (LDW activations). The magnitude of reductions in average correction RT was similar for older and younger drivers and did not change with repeated exposures across visits. The contribution of individual differences in basic visual and motor function, as well as cognitive function to safety gains from LDW was also examined. Cognitive speed of processing predicted lane keeping performance for older and younger drivers. Differences in memory, visuospatial construction, and executive function tended to predict performance differences among older but not younger drivers. Cognitive functioning did not predict changes in the magnitude of safety benefits from LDW over time. Implications are discussed with respect to real-world safety systems.
Cognitive function Older drivers Lane departure warning

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