%0 Journal Article
%T Spatial navigation ability and gaze switching in older drivers: A driving simulator study
%A Chinami Ishizuki
%A Hideki MIyaguchi
%A Hiroshi Fukuda
%A Masafumi Kunishige
%A Nami Kawabata
%A Tadayuki Iida
%J Hong Kong Journal of Occupational Therapy
%@ 1876-4398
%D 2019
%R 10.1177/1569186118823872
%X Driving ability in older people is affected by declining motor, cognitive and visual functions. We compared perceptual and cognitive skills and driving behaviour in a Japanese population. We used a driving simulator to measure the effects of spatial navigation skills and eye movements on driving ability. Participants were 34 older and 20 young adults who completed a simulated driving task involving a lane change and a right turn at an intersection. We used an eye tracker to measure gaze. We measured visual recognition (Benton Judgment of Line Orientation Test (BJLO)), spatial navigation (Card-Placing Test (CPT A & B)), visual perception (Raven¡¯s Colored Progressive Matrices (RCPM)) and driving ability (Stroke Drivers¡¯ Screening Assessment). Older participants scored significantly lower on the BJLO, CPT-A & B and RCPM, showed a significant correlation between gaze time and CPT-A & B scores (both p£¿<£¿.01) and had a longer gaze time. There were significant between-group differences in saccade switching (p£¿<£¿.01 right turn), distance per saccade (p£¿<£¿.05 for right turn and lane change) and saccade total distance (p£¿<£¿.05 right turn; p£¿<£¿.01 lane change). There was an association between age and rate of gaze at the right door mirror (p£¿=£¿0.04). The findings indicate that older drivers have poorer eye movement control and spatial navigation. This is likely to result in delayed responses and difficulties in predicting the on-coming driving environment. Driving simulation could help older drivers in their driving abilities
%K Driving simulator
%K older drivers
%K eye movements
%K gaze time
%K spatial navigation
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1569186118823872