Conference Proceeding

Cognitive, Perceptual and Motor Decline as Predictors of Risky Street-Crossing Decisions in Older Pedestrians

Authors: , , , ,

Abstract

Older pedestrians are well known to be over-involved in road crashes compared to younger pedestrians. This study investigates the extent to which risky street-crossing decisions in older pedestrians can be explained by agerelated declines of cognitive, perceptual and physical abilities. Three age groups of participants (young, young-old, old-old) were evaluated in a street-crossing task and performed a series of functional tests. The results showed that agerelated slowing in walking speed as well as a decline in cognitive flexibility and in visual acuity play a substantial role in risky decisions by the elderly. The implications of these findings, particularly in the development of a mixed physical-cognitive training to enhance the older pedestrians’ road crossing decisions in complex environments, are discussed.

Keywords:

How to Cite: Langevin, S. , Dommes, A. , Cavallo, V. , Oxley, J. & Vienne, F. (2011) “Cognitive, Perceptual and Motor Decline as Predictors of Risky Street-Crossing Decisions in Older Pedestrians”, Driving Assessment Conference. 6(2011). doi: https://doi.org/10.17077/drivingassessment.1426