The research presented in this report examines one of the determinants of driver safety, the cognitve skills of older drivers. In addition, it investigates the hypothesis of a possible link between personality and driver performance. A questionnaire was used to gather data on personality and other information related to demographics, driving experience, and "exposure" to potential for accidents. In brief, the study results were as follows: (1) statistical analyses revealed essentially no correation between any dimension of personality and driver performance variable; (2) seven driving task variables correlated with spatial processing test scores at the p < .05 level of significance; (3) ten driving task variables correlated significantly with the visual attention task, three related to time; and (4) there were no significant correlations between driver performance tasks and auditory attention. However, this might have been due to a shortage of driver performance tasks requiring concurrent driving maneuvers. The significant correlations between cognitive skills test scores and the driver performance task variables supported some of the study hypotheses. The fact that the demonstrated relationships are clearly associated with potential for accidents, especially at intersections (where a high percentage of accidents involving older drivers occur), is encouraging; the research is on track. However, it is obvious that more study is indicated, to translate what has been learned into practical usage.
Abstract