Vehicle Engineering Department, Automotive Research and Innovation Center, P.O. Box 1386133311, Tehran, Iran.
school of Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Accid Anal Prev. 2016 Sep;94:198-206. doi: 10.1016/j.aap.2016.05.016. Epub 2016 Jun 18.
Using in-vehicle audio technologies such as audio systems and voice messages is regarded as a common secondary task. Such tasks, known as the sources of non-visual distraction, affect the driving performance. Given the elderly drivers' cognitive limitations, driving can be even more challenging to drivers. The current study examined how listening to economic news, as a cognitively demanding secondary task, affects elderly subjects' driving performance and whether their comprehension accuracy is associated with these effects.
Participants of the study (N=22) drove in a real condition with and without listening to economic news. Measurements included driving performance (speed control, forward crash risk, and lateral lane position) and task performance (comprehension accuracy).
The mean driving speed, duration of driving in unsafe zones and numbers of overtaking decreased significantly when drivers were engaged in the dual-task condition. Moreover, the cognitive secondary task led to a higher speed variability. Our results demonstrate that there was not a significant relationship between the lane changes and the activity of listening to economic news. However, a meaningful difference was observed between general comprehension and deep comprehension on the one hand and driving performance on the other. Another aspect of our study concerning the drivers' ages and their comprehension revealed a significant relationship between age above 75 and comprehension level. Drivers aging 75 and older showed a lower level of deep comprehension.
Our study demonstrates that elderly drivers compensated driving performance with safety margin adoption while they were cognitively engaged. In this condition, however, maintaining speed proved more demanding for drivers aging 75 and older.
使用车载音频技术，如音频系统和语音消息，被认为是一种常见的次要任务。这些任务被称为非视觉干扰源，会影响驾驶表现。考虑到老年驾驶员认知能力的限制，驾驶对他们来说可能更加具有挑战性。本研究考察了收听经济新闻作为认知要求较高的次要任务如何影响老年受试者的驾驶表现，以及他们的理解准确性是否与这些影响相关。
研究参与者（N=22）在真实条件下驾驶，同时收听和不收听经济新闻。测量包括驾驶表现（速度控制、正面碰撞风险和横向车道位置）和任务表现（理解准确性）。
当驾驶员参与双重任务时，平均驾驶速度、在不安全区域的驾驶持续时间和超车次数显著减少。此外，认知性次要任务导致速度变化更大。我们的研究结果表明，车道变化与收听经济新闻的活动之间没有显著关系。然而，在一般理解和深入理解与驾驶表现之间观察到了有意义的差异。我们研究的另一个方面涉及驾驶员年龄和他们的理解能力，发现 75 岁以上的年龄与理解水平之间存在显著关系。75 岁及以上的驾驶员表现出较低的深入理解能力。
我们的研究表明，老年驾驶员在认知参与时通过采用安全裕度来补偿驾驶表现。然而，在这种情况下，对于 75 岁及以上的驾驶员来说，保持速度更为困难。
