Individuals learning to drive solo before age 18 have superior spatial navigation ability compared with those who learn later

Abstract

A challenge associated with driving vehicles can be navigating to the destination. While driving experience would seem beneficial for improving navigation skill, it remains unclear how driving experience relates to wayfinding ability. Using the mobile video game-based wayfinding task Sea Hero Quest, which is predictive of real-world navigation, we measured wayfinding ability in US-based participants (n = 694, 291 men, 403 women, mean age = 26.8 years, range = 18-52 years). We also asked travel-related self-report questions, including the age one started learning to drive, the age one started driving solo and weekly driving hours. A multivariate linear regression model found that those who started driving solo below aged 18 had significantly better wayfinding ability than those starting to drive solo aged 18 and above. Other driving-related self-report measures were not associated with wayfinding ability. Future studies should determine the directionality of the association between driving experience and wayfinding ability.