Workload of younger and elderly drivers in different infrastructural situations

Based on the goal of forwarding an individualized navigation system for driving, the present work focuses on the examination of the workload of drivers of different age groups. The elderly drivers were 67-72 years old (N = 8, m = 68.8 years, sd = 1.6), the “younger drivers'' 27-31 years (N = 8, m = 29.0, sd = 1.7). It was investigated whether in difficult situations the workload of elderly drivers is higher than the workload of younger drivers. The study was conducted in real, right-hand traffic using a test vehicle of the German Aerospace Center. The participants drove on a predefined track through the city of Braunschweig, Germany. Workload was assessed using multiple measures. Before, during and after the test drive, the participants rated the subjectively perceived effort. During the test drive, physiological data and driving speed were recorded. Results show that compared to younger drivers, elderly drivers reported less effort in most questionnaires. Four types of routing that are especially difficult for elderly drivers were identified on the basis of a cardiovascular measure (the inter-beat-interval). These were (a) two left-turn lanes at an intersection, (b) turning right when pedestrians, cyclists and cars were signaled “go” simultaneously, (c) driving through a complex intersection and (d) turning left without traffic signs. Probably caused by age-related deficits, the workload of elderly drivers was higher in these situations. With an individualized navigation, these situations could be avoided. As velocity was affected mainly by external conditions such as traffic light phases, this measure was not used as an indicator of workload.