Evaluation of a Simulator Training Program with Driving-Specific Feedback for Older Drivers

Abstract

Older adults over the age of 65 continue to be the fastest growing segment of the population when it comes to driving. Driving a vehicle is complex and many older adult drivers see their safety being affected as they are at a higher risk of motor vehicle crashes, especially while maneuvering intersections as drivers tend to engage in less frequent scanning behaviours in these situations. There exist numerous ways to increase the life expectancy of safe driving, notably through a virtually simulated driving environment. However, one key factor in the acquisition of safe driving behaviours relies on the nature of the feedback provided while being trained in a simulated environment. Therefore, the current study sought to further reduce this gap by providing two types of live feedback (i.e., simulator or instructor feedback) at intersections during simulator training and to determine its impact on scanning behaviours and overall driving performance. A total of 61 participants aged 65 years and older were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: 1) Control Group (CG); 2) Instructor Feedback Training group (SIT); and 3) Simulator-Automated Training group (SAT). All participants completed a combination of cognitive (e.g., Montreal Cognitive Assessment) and visual (e.g., Pelli Robson Contrast Sensitivity; Peripheral Motion Contrast Threshold) baseline measures. The primary outcomes were the number of scanning errors at intersections and global driving errors on the road and in the simulator which were captured by video and coded by multiple blinded and independent raters. Results indicated that automated feedback and instructor feedback contributed significantly towards decreasing scanning errors both during simulated and on-road drives in comparison to the control group. However, the generalizability of feedback towards global driving behaviours was mixed, with mostly insignificant findings except for decreases in general observation errors on the road. The results of this study highlight the importance and relevance of individualized training methods for improving targeted driving behaviours in older adult drivers.