The aging driver population in Canada and the United States is a source of growing concern due to their involvement in road crashes. Research has shown that declines that come with aging can impair elderly drivers, making common driving manoeuvres that they have performed for decades, such as turning left in an intersection, much more challenging. Of greatest concern, older drivers are at increased risk of cognitive impairment and dementia. Cognitive or “brain fitness” training programs have emerged in the last decade with the intention to improve safety among older drivers. These programs have been developed for on-line and computer use and are being marketed as products that are effective in improving cognitive abilities that decline with advancing age. This paper critically reviews the literature to assess the extent to which the available scientific evidence demonstrates that computer-based cognitive training programs improve cognitive abilities and safety among older drivers. The available research suggests that such programs are likely effective to improve performance in relation to the specific basic cognitive tasks that are being trained (e.g., visual speed of processing). There is also evidence that these improvements generally fail to transfer to simulated and real-world driving tasks (e.g., hazard recognition while driving). (Author/publisher)
Abstract