Characteristics and Predictors of Distracted Driving Behaviors in Older Adults
Open Access
- Author:
- Freed, Sara Ann
- Graduate Program:
- Human Development and Family Studies
- Degree:
- Master of Science
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- April 16, 2018
- Committee Members:
- Lesley Ross, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Alyssa Gamaldo, Committee Member - Keywords:
- older adults
distracted driving
older drivers
cognition
physical function
multilevel modeling
useful field of view - Abstract:
- Distracted driving is a major public health concern, increasing the risk of motor vehicle crashes that can result in injury or death. Despite research indicating that older adults engage in distracted driving behaviors, there is limited work characterizing distracted driving and its predictors in older adults. The majority of research on older adult driving behavior has utilized insufficient methods to understand the nature of distracted driving behavior. The use of multiple assessments of driving behavior is needed to examine day-to-day variations in driving behavior, allowing for more accurate and specific assessments of driving. The current study examined the variability of and predictors of objectively-assessed older adult distracted driving in a naturalistic study of healthy older adults in the Senior and Adolescent Naturalistic Driving Study. Participants (N=72) were between 65 and 85 years of age (M=72.29, SD=5.36) and 56% were women. The majority of older adults did not engage in distracted driving behaviors during the study, and participants who did engage in them did so infrequently. The most common distracted driving behaviors were interacting with a cell phone, reaching, and grooming. Multilevel models predicting distracted driving behavior across trips revealed that better physical function significantly predicted more grooming during a trip. Multilevel models predicting distracted driving behavior within a trip revealed that men were more likely to interact with a cell phone during a trip than women. The results of this study highlight the importance of studying variability in distracted driving. Future studies should examine within-trip and within-person predictors of distracted driving such as driving environment or daily cognition.