Age Differences in the Functional Field-of-View while Driving: A Preliminary Simulator-Based Study

Abstract

This study represents an initial exploration of a new technique developed to permit the assessment of age differences in the “useful field of view” (Ball, et al., 1993) while simultaneously operating a motor vehicle. Due to necessary safety precautions, this novel approach was first evaluated using a simulated rather than a real-world driving context. Data was collected from seventeen young (mean age = 19.8) and eight older (mean age = 72.9) adult volunteers. Preliminary data analyses indicated that the technique was sensitive to “tunnel vision” effects resulting from experimentally induced limitations in the time available to process stimulus target “onset” events in the visual periphery. The magnitude and time-course of these effects differed markedly as a function of the age of the observer. Shortcomings in the current implementation of the technique and planned improvements are also discussed.

The role of visual attention in predicting driving impairment in older adults.

“…Although performance in the peripheral task in the dual task condition decreased with age and eccentricity, no difference was found across ages in the effect of eccentricity. Similar findings have also been reported by Semenec, Buchler, Hoyer, and Cerella (2002) and Schieber and Benedetto (2001). Together, these studies suggest that spatial reduction in the scale of attention is similar for younger and older adults (as measured by accuracy of peripheral target detection; older adults have been shown to make more saccades to peripheral targets in difficult search conditions, although the results are more equivocal with regard to response time; see Scialfa, Thomas, &Joffe, 1994, andJoffe, 1997).…”