Effects of situation awareness under different road environments on young and elder drivers

This simulation study was conducted to examine how age (elder vs. young) and road events (in-vehicle information, vehicles, traffic signs, traffic lights, pedestrians, and bicyclists) affect driver performance levels in terms of situation awareness (SA). The participants comprised 46 age-balanced volunteers who executed a simulated driving task and verbally completed the Situation Awareness Global Assessment Technique questionnaire with the researcher. The results indicate that age affects SA during driving. Elder drivers demonstrated less situation comprehension than young drivers, and all participants demonstrated significantly poorer SA performance levels toward vehicles and traffic signs compared with other road events.