Extending Analysis of Older Drivers’ Scanning Patterns at Intersections

Abstract

Drivers 75 years old and older are overrepresented in fatal crashes at intersections, particularly while turning left. Previous research suggested that this event could occur because older drivers glance less frequently toward potential hazards in the right or left extremities (e.g., cross traffic) when navigating intersections than do middle-aged drivers. However, the previous research did not examine whether older drivers turning left at signalized four-way intersections glanced less frequently at the location from which opposing traffic could come than did middle-aged drivers. Nor did the previous research determine whether failure to glance (either at cross or opposing traffic) was associated with actual crashes since, at least in the driving simulator experiments, no hazards (threat vehicles) ever actually materialized. A driving simulator study involving 18 older and 11 middle-aged drivers examined age-related differences in drivers’ scanning patterns at intersections with both cross and opposing traffic and the effect of the failure to scan on simulator crashes. Drivers’ glances toward all potential hazards were recorded with an eye tracker at stop-controlled T-intersections and signalized four-way intersections. The results demonstrated that the older drivers were less likely to glance toward cross traffic when they first entered a stop-controlled T-intersection or a signalized four-way signalized intersection and also were less likely to glance toward opposing traffic as they turned into the far travel lane when making a left turn at a signalized four-way intersection, compared with the middle-aged drivers. The results also demonstrated that drivers (both older and middle-aged) were much more likely to crash if they failed to glance toward potential threats.