Age differences in judging safe gaps in which to cross the road safely were investigated. Fifty four young, young-old and old-old adults viewed traffic sequences in which time-of-arrival and vehicle speed were manipulated, and indicated whether they would cross the road or not and rated the safety of the crossing. The results revealed that the young-old group made comparably conservative crossing decisions, while the old-old group made more potentially unsafe crossing decisions. Further, diminished performance on functional assessments was associated with less safe crossing decisions. The results are discussed in relation to perceptual misjudgments as a result of functional limitations and a reduced ability to compensate for these limitations. (A)
Abstract