Speed-of-Processing Training Makes for Better Drivers

Compiled by Staff Writers

A study from the American Geriatrics Society says that special training that enhances visual information processing ability could help prevent automobile accidents involving older drivers.

In older adults, age-related declines in visual information processing are often a key contributor to automobile accidents--a leading cause of injury-related deaths among those 65 and older. In the study, sponsored by the VA Rehabilitation Research and Development Service, researchers at the VA Medical Center in Birmingham, Alabama followed 45 veterans, ages 60 to 80, whose driving was impaired. The researchers divided the drivers into two groups. A control group got 10 sessions of training on how to navigate the Internet. The other group got 10 sessions of speed-of-processing (SOP) training. Designed to improve visual information processing, the computerized instruction program gives users increasingly challenging visual attention tasks to complete.

Those who got SOP training, the researchers found, significantly improved their visual information processing ability. They had significantly faster times on tests that required them to identify a particular object amid different kinds of visual distractions on a computer screen.

For More Information....

The National  Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Older Drivers' Program offers resources and information of interest to older road users and their families.