• UTRC II SUBMISSION SYSTEM
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Login / Register

Search form

Home
  • Home
  • About
    • Welcome to the UTRC Site
    • Theme
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
    • Press
    • Annual Report
    • Program Progress Performance Report
    • Newsletter
  • Research
    • Projects
    • RFPs
    • Submit Your Proposal
    • Funding Categories
      • UTRC Research Initiative
      • UTRC Advanced Technology Initiative
      • UTRC Faculty Development Mini-grants
      • UTRC Best Transportation Paper Competition
      • News
  • Publications
  • Directory
    • Consortium Universities
    • Partners
    • Principal Investigators
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
  • Education
    • Where to Study
    • Transportation and Planning Doctoral Series
    • AITE Scholarships
    • UTRC Dissertation Grants
    • Summer Institute
    • September 11th Memorial Program
    • Technology Transfer and Training
    • Online Graduate Certificate Program
    • UTRC Travel Grants
    • Student Award Recipients
    • Apply For Scholarships
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
    • Visiting Scholar Seminar Series
  • Resources

A Simulation based Assessment Approach to Increase Safety among Senior Drivers


The primary goal of this study is to develop driving simulation strategies for the assessment of senior?aged drivers, targeting those with known/suspected cognitive impairment. These simulation strategies will supplement, not replace, existing protocols for driver assessment. A driving simulator can be used to: define driving tasks that are likely to be affected by stages of dementia, and to capture vital driver performance metrics. Such a controlled and measurable environment can be used to implement scenarios that sufficiently challenge suspect drivers in a way that, due to safety concerns, could not be accomplished within an actual vehicle. Drivers will be evaluated in a driving simulator located at the University at Buffalo (UB) (Figure 1), and subsequently evaluated conventionally: in?clinic (to measure cognitive state) and in?vehicle (to measure mechanical ability to operate a vehicle). In the simulator, drivers will face 3 historically problematic scenarios: 1) Traffic Sign Management, 2) Intersection Management, and 3) Left Turn Management. The road course will be driven twice: with and without evaluator navigation ?? it is hypothesized that patients with dementia will exhibit a marked decrease in driver performance in the absence of evaluator navigation. In an effort to validate the proposed protocol, a small pilot study will be performed. Approximately 15 “well elderly” drivers and 15 drivers with dementia will be recruited, and the samples compared subsequent to all evaluations.

Project Details

Project Dates: 
July 1, 2011 to March 31, 2013
Principal Investigators: 
Dr. Kevin Hulme
Institution: 
State University of New York (SUNY)
Sponsor(s): 
Research and Innovative Technology Administration / USDOT (RITA)
Publications: 
Final Report
Project Brief
Project Status: 
Complete
Research Categories: 
Safety and Security
Please subscribe to our Newsletter:

Get our newsletter

Please enter your email address to subscribe to our newsletter:

Contact Us

University Transportation Research Center
Marshak Hall - Science Building, Suite 910 
The City College of New York
138th Street & Convent Avenue ,New York, NY 10031