Journal article
Identifying neuropsychological correlates of driving performance in older adults: Findings from the ROADSAFE study
Transportation Research. Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, Vol.121, pp.1-10
Jul-2026
Abstract
Aims/objectives
Previous research has identified a need for standardised assessment tools for assessing cognitive fitness to drive, given the increasing ageing population and emergence of age-related conditions that can ultimately affect driving and crash risk. This study examined whether neuropsychological test measures that have previously demonstrated sensitivity to subclinical changes in cognition arising from mild cognitive impairment correlate with measures of driving capacity (assessed via a hazard perception test [HPT] and driving simulator) in older adults.
Methods
A total of 216 older adults with a mean age of 72 years (SD = 6.62; range 60–92 years) completed a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment battery, a HPT and simulated driving tasks. The relationships between neuropsychological test measures and driving performance metrics were examined.
Results/discussion
Poorer sustained attention (measured by the Cambridge Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Battery; CANTAB; Rapid Visual Processing accuracy) was associated with slower response latencies on the HPT. Further, lower visuo-spatial working memory (measured by the CANTAB subtest Spatial Span) was associated with slower speeds. Finally, greater response time variability during the subtest Five-Choice Reaction Time (a divided attention task) was associated with greater variability in headway distance. Small-to-moderate magnitude effects were observed. These findings represent an important starting point for developing screening tools for assessing cognitive fitness to drive.
Details
- Title
- Identifying neuropsychological correlates of driving performance in older adults: Findings from the ROADSAFE study
- Authors
- K.B. Stefanidis (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine CoastG.S. Larue - University of the Sunshine CoastM.S. Horswill - The University of QueenslandA. Hill - The University of QueenslandM.J. Summers - University of the Sunshine Coast
- Publication details
- Transportation Research. Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, Vol.121, pp.1-10
- Publisher
- Elsevier Ltd
- Date published
- Jul-2026
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.trf.2026.103723
- ISSN
- 1873-5517
- Copyright note
- © 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ ).
- Data Availability
- The authors do not have permission to share data.
- Grant note
- This research was supported by the Co-Group Project grant through the Dementia Australia Research Foundation as well as the MAIC/UniSC Road Safety Research Collaboration Grant. The Motor Accident Insurance Commission provided funding to the University of the Sunshine Coast to support the MAIC/UniSC Road Safety Research Collaboration to conduct research activities that aim to reduce the incidence of motor vehicle crashes.
- Organisation Unit
- Road Safety Research Collaboration; Healthy Ageing Research Cluster; School of Health - Psychology; School of Law and Society
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991246171302621
- Output Type
- Journal article