Older people have more difficulty driving if they have poorer spatial orientation skills.
- Spatial orientation performance significantly predicted driving difficulties and accident frequency.
- Difficulties while driving were associated with poorer allocentric spatial orientation, processing speed, and memory performance.
- Similarly, avoiding difficult driving situations was linked to poorer spatial orientation and episodic memory.
“Cognitive changes in older adults affect driving behavior and road safety, but how differences in spatial orientation affect driving behaviors is unknown at the population level, despite clear implications for driving policy and assessment during aging”, indicated scientists from the University of Exeter (United Kingdom).
For the first time, these researchers showed that poorer performance in spatial orientation predicted increased driving difficulties and avoidance of difficult situations in seniors. In order to reach this conclusion, they conducted a study, the results of which were published in the journal The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences.
Spatial orientation, skills allowing us to determine the position of our car
As part of their work, they analyzed the impact of changes in spatial orientation on driving behavior in healthy elderly people. As a reminder, spatial orientation ability is a combination of skills that allows us to mentally determine our position, or the position of our vehicle and other vehicles, in relation to the environment.
In the research, 804 seniors were recruited between February and August 2021. Participants had to be 65 years or older, hold a valid driving license and be regular motorists, driving at least once a week. They completed online questionnaires regarding their demographics, health status, driving history, driving habits, traffic accident history, spatial memory and navigation ability. Next, the volunteers took a series of neuropsychological tests aimed at assessing their cognitive performance in different areas.
Poor spatial orientation leads to difficulty judging vehicle position
The results showed that driving difficulties and avoiding difficult situations are associated with poorer spatial orientation ability in healthy aging. In detail, spatial orientation deficits lead to increased difficulty in assessing the position of the vehicle in relation to the environment. According to the team, processing speed is a key area that influences older adults’ driving behavior.
Another observation: older drivers whose spatial orientation ability is poorer have difficulty turning in the opposite direction of traffic. “Older adults are over-represented, particularly in multi-vehicle intersection crashes, and orientation problems are therefore a key individual risk factor for road collisions involving turning into oncoming vehicles” , declared authors.
According to the authors, further studies are needed on how changes in driving behavior relate to trajectories of cognitive functioning over time, which will provide key insights into the frequency of fitness assessments. driving and how driving behavior and cognitive assessments can be controlled.
