Driving, Aging, and Proprioception (1995-1999)
Daniel Formosa, PhD (PhD Research)
Driving is both a necessity for performing daily activities and a symbol of independence. In the 1980s, the United States experienced a dramatic increase in the number of older drivers. Between 1980 and 1989, the number of drivers between the ages 65 and 69 increased by 26%, while the drivers over the age of 70 increased by 49%. Fatality and crash statistics present a concern for older drivers. Between 1980 and 1989, the number of driving fatalities decreased in the US by 8%. For drivers over the age of 65, however, the number increased by 43%. These statistics demonstrate the importance of driving safety, which is defined as the ability of a driver to control the vehicle under a variety of conditions. Among other factors, driving safety requires the proper handling of primary controls (steering wheel, shift levers, direction signals, foot pedals) and secondary controls (temperature controls, audio system controls, window controls).

The goals of this Ph.D. thesis project are to investigate the ability to quickly and accurately reach instrument panel controls in automobiles, and the effect of age on this ability. The project is at its pilot study stage. The pilot study is designed to check and verify test procedures and protocols to be used to carry out the entire project. The test procedure is such that human subjects are asked to reach for an array of targets on the touch-sensitive instrument panel while maintaining in-lane position on a driving simulator. The project is being carried out at the Graduate Design Department of the University of Arts in Philadelphia. The experimental setup consists of a driving simulator and two computers. One of the computers is used to present the driving simulation task and the second computer -- connected to a touch-sensitive instrument panel and a sensor on the steering wheel -- is used for data collection. During the tests, the touch-sensitive panel provides a total of 25 instrument panel targets arranged in a 5 by 5 grid, and each target is located 10 cm apart. The data collected include steering accuracy, pre-motor reaction time, motor reaction time, and reach accuracy.

The preliminary results of the tests conducted on five human subjects indicated the following trends: all subjects tended to reach too far to the right; accuracy was worse as the distance from the two-o'clock hand position to the target increased; and accuracy was better for positions in the second row of the grid, suggesting that horizontal hand movements may be more accurate than the movements along a diagonal.

The next steps in this project include testing three more subjects to complete the pilot study. The data collected during the pilot study will be used to carry out power calculations to determine the total number of subjects needed for the entire study. Based on the results of the pilot study, the test procedures and protocols will also be reviewed and, if necessary, modified. Finally, older and younger drivers will be recruited, tested, and compared.

This project received one of six John J. O'Toole Safety Memorial Scholarship Awards given in 1996 by New York University.