Changing Lanes in a Simulator: Effects of Aging on the Control of the Vehicle and Visual Inspection of Mirrors and Blind Spot

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine lane change strategies in active younger and older drivers. Visual inspection of mirrors and the blind spot and the control of the vehicle were documented in a simulator environment.

Methods: Younger (n = 10, 21–31 years) and older (n = 11, 65–75 years) active drivers drove through a continuous simulated environment including urban and rural sections. The scenario included events where, to negotiate a secure lane change, the driver needed to look at 3 regions of interest (ROI): (1) the rearview mirror, (2) the left side mirror, and (3) the left blind spot. The lane change maneuvers were necessary to avoid a vehicle parked halfway in the rightmost lane that was partially or completely blocking the lane or for overtaking a slower moving vehicle.

Results: Compared with younger drivers, older drivers showed a reduced frequency of visual inspection toward the rearview mirror and the blind spot. Also, though the older drivers showed a constant frequency of visual inspection across the 2 types of driving maneuvers, the younger drivers increased their frequency of inspection when overtaking a slower vehicle. Control of the car was mostly similar for both groups.

Conclusion: A better knowledge of the drivers’ visual search strategies when changing lanes could help in identifying suboptimal strategies at-risk of causing crashes and also serves to develop retraining programs.

Keywords:

• Driving
• Simulator
• Aging
• Visual seach strategies
• Lane changes
• Blind spot

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This project received support from AUTO21 (COBVIS-D, F203-FCO), NSERC Discovery grant program (NT), and the Société de l’Assurance Automobile du Québec (SAAQ). M. Lavallière was supported by the Fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec (FRSQ)(doctorat scholarship). Special thanks to all drivers who participated in the project and to Marcel E. Kaszap and Mathieu Tremblay for help in software development and data collection and analysis, respectively.