Self-reported Attentional Failures during Driving Relates to On-road Crashes and Simulated Driving Performance of Older Drivers

Older drivers experience increasing risks of a motor vehicle crash as they age. The increased crash risks among older drivers are associated with age-related declines in cognitive functioning, particularly in attentional abilities. Failures in attentional processing can severely impair driving performance. The authors developed a questionnaire, the Attentional Failures during Driving Questionnaire (AFDQ), to measure the frequency of attentional failures in driving. Initial evidence suggested that the AFDQ was a reliable and valid measure of attentional abilities in driving, and was able to reflect age differences on these abilities. In this paper, they describe their efforts to further develop the AFDQ to a short version based on a factor analysis of the items. They examined the effectiveness of the AFDQ in a survey study and then a simulated driving study with older drivers. Results from their survey study suggested that the AFDQ score was well associated with scores from other established self-report measures of cognitive and driving abilities. The frequency of attentional failures as measured by the AFDQ was found to predict older drivers’ self-reported numbers of vehicle warnings, citations and crashes in the past five years. Findings from the simulated driving study showed that the AFDQ score was related to a set of driving performance measures, including the number of collisions with pedestrians and the number of off-road collisions and centerline crossings. The findings from both studies suggest that the AFDQ is an effective measure in capturing attentional declines that could affect driving risks among older drivers.