The drive-wise project: driving simulator training increases real driving performance in healthy older drivers

Abstract

Background: Age-related cognitive decline is often associated with unsafe driving behavior. We hypothesized that 10 active training sessions in a driving simulator increase cognitive and on-road driving performance. In addition, driving simulator training should outperform cognitive training.Methods: Ninety-one healthy active drivers (62–87 years) were randomly assigned to one of three groups: (1) a driving simulator training group, (2) an attention training group (vigilance and selective attention), or (3) a control group. The main outcome variables were on-road driving and cognitive performance. Seventy-seven participants (85%) completed the training and were included in the analyses. Training gains were analyzed using a multiple regression analysis with planned orthogonal comparisons.Results: The driving simulator-training group showed an improvement in on-road driving performance compared to the attention-training group. In addition, both training groups increased cognitive performance compared to the control group.Conclusion: Driving simulator training offers the potential to enhance driving skills in older drivers. Compared to the attention training, the simulator training seems to be a more powerful program for increasing older drivers' safety on the road.

NeuroCar Virtual Driving Environment: Simultaneous Evaluation of Driving Skills and Spatial Perceptual-attentional Capacity

“…Recently very promising results have been reported related to the effects by training in the virtual environments on the working memory and executive functions (see e.g. [10,11] which indeed are in focus in traffic behavior.…”

The relations between specific measures of simulated driving ability and functional ability: New insights for assessment and training programs of older drivers

“…Recent studies indicate that a context-relevant training (i.e., driving based) might be more successful in improving driving ability (Casutt, Theill, et al, 2014;Gaspar et al, 2012;Mayhew et al, 2014). This is in line with the practice-specificity approach of learning which states that if the benefits are to transfer to the road, they must be acquired in a driving-specific context, since the best training conditions are those allowing the learning of the same underlying processes that will be used in the transfer task (Schmidt & Lee, 2005).…”

“…Driving simulator training has received a lot of attention in the past years, since it can specifically target those driving functions that are impaired. Evidence for this type of training for older drivers is promising immediately after training (Casutt, Theill, et al, 2014;Lavallière et al, 2009;Romoser & Fisher, 2009), as well as several years later (Romoser, 2012).…”

“…Numerous studies have investigated training programs to keep older drivers safe drivers and to postpone or even counteract functional and driving impairment. Various studies have investigated direct types of training of driving ability through for example simulator training (Casutt, Theill, Martin, Keller, & Jäncke, 2014;Romoser & Fisher, 2009) and indirect types of training of driving ability through training of functional abilities, such as motor abilities (Marmeleira, Godinho, & Fernandes, 2009;Sayers & Gibson, 2012) and cognitive abilities (Ball, Edwards, Ross, & McGwin, 2010;Cassavaugh & Kramer, 2009). However, only if the variance explained by functional abilities is sufficiently high, will a training of functional abilities be successful in training driving ability.…”

Evaluating and Enhancing Driving Ability among Teens with Autism Spectrum Disorder

“…For example, VRDST improved driving performance in elderly drivers (e.g., Casutt, Theill, Martin, Keller, & Jäncke, 2014), novice drivers learning to drive (Allen, et al, 2007;Cox, Moncrief, Wharam, Mourant & Cox, 2009), and improved visual search for hazards in young novice drivers (Vlakveld et al, 2011). Furthermore, VRDST proved useful for patient populations.…”