An Evaluation Method of Safe Driving for Senior Adults Using ECG Signals

The elderly are more susceptible to stress than younger people. In particular, heart palpitations are one of the causes of heart failure, which can lead to serious accidents. To prevent heart palpitations, we have devised the Safe Driving Intensity (SDI) and Cardiac Reaction Time (CRT) as new methods of estimating the correlations between effects on the driver’s heart and the movement of a vehicle. In SDI measurement, recommended acceleration value of vehicle for safe driving is inferred from the suggested correlation algorithm using machine learning. A higher SDI value than other people means less pressure on the heart. CRT is an estimated value of the occurring time of heart palpitations caused by stressful driving. In particular, it is proved by SDI that elderly subjects tend to overestimate their driving abilities in personal assessment questionnaires. Furthermore, we validated our SDI using other general statistical methods. When comparing the results using a t-test, we obtained reliable results for the equivalent variance. Our results can be used as a basis for evaluating elderly people’s driving ability, as well as allowing for the implementation of a personalized safe driving system for the elderly.