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Driving safety: Investigating the cognitive foundations of accident prevention

Driving is a crucial aspect of personal independence, and accurate assessment of driving skills is vital for ensuring road safety. This study aimed to identify reliable cognitive predictors of safe driving through a driving simulator experiment. We assessed the driving performance of 66 university s...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Tapia, Jose L., Duñabeitia, Jon Andoni
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Elsevier 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10643293/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38027813
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e21355
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author Tapia, Jose L.
Duñabeitia, Jon Andoni
author_facet Tapia, Jose L.
Duñabeitia, Jon Andoni
author_sort Tapia, Jose L.
collection PubMed
description Driving is a crucial aspect of personal independence, and accurate assessment of driving skills is vital for ensuring road safety. This study aimed to identify reliable cognitive predictors of safe driving through a driving simulator experiment. We assessed the driving performance of 66 university students in two distinct simulated driving conditions and evaluated their cognitive skills in decision-making, attention, memory, reasoning, perception, and coordination. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to determine the most reliable cognitive predictor of driving outcome. Results revealed that under favorable driving conditions characterized by good weather and limited interactions with other road users, none of the variables tested in the study were able to predict driving performance. However, in a more challenging scenario with adverse weather conditions and heavier traffic, cognitive assessment scores demonstrated significant predictive power for the rate of traffic infractions committed. Specifically, cognitive skills related to memory and coordination were found to be most predictive. This study underscores the significance of cognitive ability, particularly memory, in ensuring safe driving performance. Incorporating cognitive evaluations in driver licensing and education/training programs can enhance the evaluation of drivers' competence and promote safer driving practices.
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spelling pubmed-106432932023-10-21 Driving safety: Investigating the cognitive foundations of accident prevention Tapia, Jose L. Duñabeitia, Jon Andoni Heliyon Research Article Driving is a crucial aspect of personal independence, and accurate assessment of driving skills is vital for ensuring road safety. This study aimed to identify reliable cognitive predictors of safe driving through a driving simulator experiment. We assessed the driving performance of 66 university students in two distinct simulated driving conditions and evaluated their cognitive skills in decision-making, attention, memory, reasoning, perception, and coordination. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to determine the most reliable cognitive predictor of driving outcome. Results revealed that under favorable driving conditions characterized by good weather and limited interactions with other road users, none of the variables tested in the study were able to predict driving performance. However, in a more challenging scenario with adverse weather conditions and heavier traffic, cognitive assessment scores demonstrated significant predictive power for the rate of traffic infractions committed. Specifically, cognitive skills related to memory and coordination were found to be most predictive. This study underscores the significance of cognitive ability, particularly memory, in ensuring safe driving performance. Incorporating cognitive evaluations in driver licensing and education/training programs can enhance the evaluation of drivers' competence and promote safer driving practices. Elsevier 2023-10-21 /pmc/articles/PMC10643293/ /pubmed/38027813 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e21355 Text en © 2023 The Authors https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Research Article
Tapia, Jose L.
Duñabeitia, Jon Andoni
Driving safety: Investigating the cognitive foundations of accident prevention
title Driving safety: Investigating the cognitive foundations of accident prevention
title_full Driving safety: Investigating the cognitive foundations of accident prevention
title_fullStr Driving safety: Investigating the cognitive foundations of accident prevention
title_full_unstemmed Driving safety: Investigating the cognitive foundations of accident prevention
title_short Driving safety: Investigating the cognitive foundations of accident prevention
title_sort driving safety: investigating the cognitive foundations of accident prevention
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10643293/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38027813
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e21355
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