Browsing by Subject "Aged drivers"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Older Driver Support System (ODSS) Usability and Design Investigation
    (Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2018-01) Morris, Nichole L.; Craig, Curtis M.; Libby, David A.; Cooper, Jennifer
    Older drivers represent a high-risk population on the road, due to age-related declines in cognition and perception. The present research investigated whether an Older Driver Support System (ODSS) smartphone application would be useful. The research presented here was comprised of (1) focus groups, surveys, and interviews, (2) simulated driving with video playback, and (3) on-the-road field-testing. The methodology centered on iterative re-design of the ODSS interface based on feedback and behavior of older drivers. This iterative re-design approach was successful at making the ODSS interface more usable when considering System Usability Scale (SUS) scores. Furthermore, older drivers during the field test reported minimal mental effort expended when using the smartphone application and many significantly positive statements about the application. The field test resulted in several final recommendations for the ODSS application. A promising final takeaway was a universal design approach preferred by the older drivers, as they did not want to be singled out for special attention.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Older Driver Support System Field Operational Test
    (Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2019-05) Libby, David A.; Morris, Nichole L.; Craig, Curtis M.
    Older drivers represent the highest injury and fatality rate per 100 million miles driven. The disproportionate fatality risk is linked to several known factors, ranging from failure to yield to cognitive and visual limitations to seatbelt use abstention to fragility. Through a series of focus groups, usability tests, and a controlled field test, a universally designed smartphone app (called RoadCoach) designed to reduce risky driving behaviors, such as speeding and hard braking, was previously found to have high usability among older drivers. The current research consisted of a field operational test of the app, which examined the baseline driving behavior (3 weeks) of 28 older drivers in Minnesota and Kansas, their driving behavior with RoadCoach feedback (6 weeks), and their driving behavior during a follow-up, no-feedback period (3 weeks). The results demonstrated marginal reductions in speeding behaviors while the app was functioning, but speed behaviors significantly increased after the feedback was discontinued compared to when it was active. Hard braking and stop sign violations were significantly reduced during feedback and post feedback. Finally, satisfaction and trust were high among users, with drivers reporting that the app helped improve their attention and focus on the task of driving.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Spatial Orientation and Navigation in Elderly Drivers
    (2010-11) Pick, Herbert L.
    This report details a research study that was conducted to determine whether elderly drivers have more difficulty than younger drivers in maintaining orientation when they learn routes in unfamiliar neighborhoods. Drivers learned an approximately three-mile irregular route through a novel neighborhood. After they could drive the route without errors, they were asked to indicate the direction of out-of-sight landmarks from various station points along the route. Elderly drivers (60 years and over) made almost double the size errors in their judgments than the younger drivers (25-35 years). Unexpectedly, there was also a gender difference with women especially elderly women, making larger errors than men. Although actually driving along a real route gives the experimental task considerable face validity, the situation lacks considerably in experimental control. Traffic conditions can vary, weather conditions can vary, there may be road construction, etc. The nature of the route itself cannot be experimentally manipulated. With all these factors, it is difficult to investigate how orientation affects vehicle control. Much greater control can be gained by driving in a simulator and it is much safer. The orientation study described above was replicated in a simulator with similar results. Initial crude observations indicated that when attention was on wayfinding, vehicle control was poorer. A more refined study of how vehicle control is affected by wayfinding followed this project.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Teen Driver Support System Technology Transfer
    (Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2019-07) Davis, Brian
    The Teen Driver Support System (TDSS) is a smartphone application designed to provide real-time, in-vehicle feedback to novice drivers about their driving behavior to help them make safer driving decisions. The app provides warnings to the driver using in-phone sensors and maps to determine when the driver engages in in risky behavior. TDSS was evaluated in a field operational test that showed the system successfully helps reduce certain risky behaviors among teens using the system. The project documented in this report seeks to extend prior work on the system to make it suitable for future applications. This work included adding features, fixing bugs, and rebranding the system as Road Coach. It also included identifying and pursuing possible future applications of the technology. These efforts enabled the app’s use in a new application focused on providing in-vehicle feedback to older drivers. This application was evaluated as part of two separate projects. These usability and field operational test projects had positive results, notably high user acceptance and system efficacy in reducing certain risky driving behaviors. Future work in this area will continue to pursue this application of the technology as well as others.