• 한국안전학회지
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• 제21권5호
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• pp.103-111
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• 2006

The purpose of this study was to analyse the relationships between cognitive abilities and driving characteristics of elderly drivers. Driving characteristics of elderly and younger drivers who were driving a fixed base driving simulator vehicle were examined. Participants consisted of 12 drivers over age 65 (the 'older' group) and 12 drivers between the ages of 25 and 55 (the "younger" group). As indices of cognitive ability, critical flicker fusion frequency (CFF) tests and cognitive reaction tests were given before the driving task. CFF was also tested after the simulated driving task for both groups. Cognitive reaction tests, which were composed of speed estimation tests, multiple choice reaction tests and obstacle avoidance tests, were developed by the Korean Road Traffic Safety Authority in 2003. CFF values between the two groups exhibited significant differences both before and after the task, with a p-value less than 0.01 and a t-value of -3.01 before the test and a p-value less than 0.031 and a t-value of -2.35 after the test. Older drivers' CFF values were lower than those of the younger. However, there was no difference in older or younger driver CFF values before and after the task within the same group. Except for the multiple choice reaction test, there was no difference in cognitive reaction test results between the two groups. The elderly drivers made more errors though they did not differ from the younger drivers in reaction times. At the simulated driving task the reaction time of the elderly driver was longer than that of the younger; however, the driving speed of the elderly was lower and the number of collisions greater. There was a positive correlation (r=.496) between the number of errors in the multiple choice reaction test and the number of collisions in the driving task. Therefore, it was identified that critical attributes contributing to automobile crashes involving elderly drivers included cognitive difficulty in judging and responding to complex situations.

• 한국노년학
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• 제38권3호
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• pp.593-605
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• 2018

1970년대 이후 기대수명과 자동차 수의 증가로 '노인운전자'라는 신(新) 사회현상이 생겼다. 노인운전자에 대한 정책 개발은 '개인의 이동권'과 '공공의 안전' 사이의 균형을 찾는 과정으로, 정책에 직접적으로 영향을 받게 될 노인이 운전중단에 대해 어떤 태도를 갖고 준비를 하는지에 대한 이해가 선결적이다. 본 연구는 노년기 운전중단 결정에 대한 이해를 증진시키고자 전국 17개 시도에서 실시된 만 65세 이상 노인을 모집단으로 비례층화할당 표본 추출을 활용한 설문조사 데이터를 사용하였다(표본 크기: 2,076명). 운전을 그만두는 것을 생각해본 적이 있는지와 운전중단 시점을 스스로 정할지 아니면 타인이 조언해주는 것이 좋은지에 대한 선호를 종속변수로 일련의 로지스틱 회귀분석을 수행하였다. 분석결과 38.1%가 운전을 해본 적이 있으며, 21.2%는 면허가 있고 지난 한 달 동안 운전을 한 적이 있다고 응답하였다. 운전은 성별에 따라 큰 차이를 나타내어 남성노인은 43%가 운전을 하고 있는 반면에, 여성노인은 5.1%에 불과하였다. 노인운전자의 약 2/3인 62.8%가 운전을 그만두는 것을 생각해본 적 없다고 응답하였으며, 역시 약 2/3인 66.0%가 운전을 그만두는 시점을 스스로 판단하는 것을 선호하였다. 여성이 남성에 비해, 도시지역 거주자가 농어촌지역 거주자에 비해 운전중단을 생각해본 확률이 2배 정도 높았다. 나이가 한 살 증가할 때마다 운전중단을 생각해본 확률이 5%씩 증가하였고, 만성질환으로 일상생활 어려움이 클수록 운전중단을 생각해보는 경향이 있었다. 반면, 운전중단 시점을 스스로 판단하는 것에 통계적으로 유의미한 영향을 미치는 사회인구학적, 건강 요인은 없었다. 본 연구결과는 현재 시행 중인 연령에 따른 면허 갱신주기 단축 정책에 더불어 노인운전자의 자발적 운전중단에 동기를 부여할 수 있는 정책적 개입이 보완적 효과를 가져올 수 있음을 시사한다. 아울러, 노년기의 운전중단은 사전 예방적으로 접근하여 건강한 전기 노년기부터 미리 계획하고 준비할 수 있는 교육이 필요하며, 이때 농어촌지역 거주자와 남성 노인운전자에 보다 큰 관심이 요구된다.

• 한국자동차공학회논문집
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• 제17권2호
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• pp.90-97
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• 2009

One of the most important factors that affect a person's risk of injury in a motor vehicle crash is the age of the person. This study investigates the characteristics of crash injuries among young, middle-aged and older drivers and occupants. Based on the comprehensive claim data from automobile insurance from 2000 to 2007, this study examines in great detail the drivers and occupants injury body regions and severity by age in car-to-car frontal crashes. It has been shown that elderly drivers and occupants suffer more injuries at a chest region compared to the middle-aged group. This research calls attention to the need for design to make vehicles more protective for older drivers in car-to car frontal crashes.

• 대한인간공학회지
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• 제29권1호
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• pp.67-71
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• 2010

This study examined the field of view of older drivers based on their eye points. The subjects were 25 people whose age was over 65 years and 10 contrasting subjects on their 20s. For the experiment, we expanded the width of the A-pillar of a test vehicle. With a measuring apparatus designed for the study, we analyzed 3 axes of coordinates from glabella to a fixed point of the vehicle that would be used as CAD data of vehicle design. Result shows that average eye point of the older subjects was located significantly farther from the seat than that of the 20s approximately by 31.62mm(p=0.05). It was also found that the Binocular FOV was not significantly different between the older subjects and the 20s(p=0.85), and the effect of the width of the A-pillar on the FOV could not be found. We also measured the left and right side of the Ambinocular FOV of the older subjects. It was found that the older subjects had much wider visual angle than the 20s by 2.84 degree (F=4.78, p=0.01) on the left side, while the 20s showed significantly wider average angle than the older subjects by about 4.88 degree (F=4.78, p<0.05) on the right side. The results of this study can be used to improve the FOV based on the optimal eye points when designing a vehicle for older drivers.

• 대한기계학회논문집A
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• 제33권8호
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• pp.799-806
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• 2009

Thoracic injury from restraint loading is the principle causative factor of death, which was shown to be particularly significant for older drivers. To characterize thoracic response to belt loading of older drivers, detailed finite element models of the adult and aged thorax were developed. The geometry of the 50th percentile adult male was chosen for the adult FE model. The thoracic FE model was validated against data obtained from results of PMHS pendulum impact tests. The quantified patterns of age-related shape and well-established material changes were applied to the adult model to develop the aged model. Belt force and chest deflection were applied to the developed two types of models. Rib and clavicle fracture risk obviously increased in the aged model. This finding showed that larger rib angle and reduced material properties of the ribcage produced more higher risk of injury in the older driver.

• 한국안전학회지
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• 제24권1호
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• pp.69-77
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• 2009

This paper reports the aging driver traffic accident severity modeling results. For the modeling, Poisson regression approach is applied using the data set obtained from the Korea Transportation Safety Authority's simulator-based driver aptitude test results. The test items include the estimations of moving objects' speed and stopping distance, drivers' multi-task capability, and kinetic depth perception and so on. The resulting model with the response variable of equivalent property damage only(EPDO) indicated that EPDO is significantly influenced by moving objects' speed estimation and drivers' multi-task capabilities. More interestingly, a comparison with the younger driver model revealed that the degradation of such capabilities may result in severer crashes for older drivers as suggested by the higher estimated parameters for the older driver model.

• 한국자동차공학회논문집
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• 제21권4호
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• pp.62-69
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• 2013

Visual demands associated with in-vehicle display usage and text messaging distract a driver's visual attention from the roadway. To minimize eyes-off-the-road demands, voice interaction systems are widely introduced. Under cognitively distracted condition, however, awareness of the operating environment will be degraded although the driver remains oriented to the roadway. It is also know that the risk of inattentive driving varies with age, thus systematic analysis of driving risks is required for the older drivers. This paper aims to understand the age-related driving performance degradation and visual attention changes under auditory cognitive demand which consists of three graded levels of cognitive complexity. In this study, two groups, aged 25-35 and 60-69, engaged in a delayed auditory recall task, so called N-back task, while driving a simulated highway. Comparisons of younger and older drivers' driving performance including mean speed, speed variability and standard deviation of lane position, and gaze dispersion changes, which consist of x-axis and y-axis of visual attention, were conducted. As a result, it was observed that gaze dispersion decreased with each level of demand, demonstrating that these indices can correctly rank order cognitive workload. Moreover, gaze dispersion change patterns were quite consistent in younger and older age groups. Effects were also observed on driving performance measures, but they were subtle, nonlinear, and did not effectively differentiate the levels of cognitive workload.

• 대한토목학회논문집
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• 제28권2D호
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• pp.235-242
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• 2008

고령인구의 운전참여 비율이 급증하는 시점에서 시력 및 운전판단 능력이 떨어지는 고령운전자가 안전하게 운행할 수 있도록 하기 위해서는 고령운전자를 위한 도로교통환경의 정비가 무엇보다 중요하다. 도로교통 안전시설물 중에서 가장 먼저 생각할 수 있는 것은 도로표지로, 고령운전자가 도로표지를 잘 알아볼 수 있도록 설치할 필요가 있다. 본 연구는 고령운전자가 도로표지판의 지명개수에 대해서 어떻게 반응하는지, 또한 연령대별로 어느 정도 차이가 나는지를 실험하기 위해서 다양한 연령층(20대~70대)을 확보하여 실험을 수행하였다. 이때 사용된 장비는 표지판의 내용을 완벽하게 주시했는지를 알 수 있는 안구운동분석기와 도로현실을 최대한 반영한 가상 도로주행시뮬레이터를 사용하였다. 연구내용은 고령운전자에 대한 속도변화, 판독소요시간 분석, 오독률 분석을 실시하였다. 그 결과 각 구간에서 연령대별 판독과정에 따른 속도변화를 살펴보면, 전체적으로 연령이 높을수록 속도는 낮은 경향을 나타냈다. 연령대별 평균 판독소요시간 분석에서 회귀분석을 실시한 결과, 비표준화계수를 살펴보면 연령이 증가할수록 판독소요시간이 0.106초씩 증가하였다. 그리고 Logistic Model을 이용하여 연령별 지명개수에 따른 오독률을 분석한 결과, 5% 미만의 오독률을 고려하였을 때 고령자의 경우에는 지명개수가 4개 이하가 가장 바람직한 것으로 나타났다. 본 연구는 도로교통환경에서 보호받아야할 고령자에게 도로표지판의 적정 지명개수를 제시함으로써 도로교통안전에 도움이 될 것으로 본다. 또한 향후 각종 도로교통표지 설계시 안전성을 제고하는 기법 개발에 활용 및 기여할 것이다.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• 제30권5호
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• pp.187-192
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• 2018

Purpose: This study compared the functional fitness and brake response of elderly and young drivers to confirm the correlation between the functional fitness and brake response. Methods: This study was a cross sectional observational design. Older drivers (>65age, n=21) and young adult drivers (20-40aged, n=20) were enrolled as subjects. The functional fitness of the subjects was measured using a senior fitness test consisting of a back scratch (BS), chair sit and reach (CSR), arm curl (AC), chair stand up (CSU), foot up and go (8-FUG), and 2-minute step (2-MS). The brake response used the virtual driving simulator to measure the brake reaction time (BRT) and braking distance (BD) according to the pedestrian protection and traffic signal compliance. Results: The older drivers had a lower BS (p<0.000), CSU (p=0.040), and 8-FUG (p=0.011) than the young adult drivers. BS and 8-FUG showed a significant positive correlation with the BRT and BD of pedestrian protection and traffic signal compliance. CSU showed a significant negative correlation with the BRT of pedestrian protection and traffic signal compliance. Conclusion: These findings suggest that the flexibility of the upper extremity, lower extremity strength, and agility are strongly correlated with the driving performance of elderly drivers.

• 한국도로학회논문집
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• 제17권5호
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• pp.57-66
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• 2015

PURPOSES: Nighttime driving is very different from daytime driving because drivers must obtain nighttime sight-distances based on road lights and headlights. Unfortunately, nighttime driving conditions in Korea are far from ideal due to poor lighting and an insufficient number of road lights and inadequate operation and maintenance of delineators. This study is conducted to develop new standards for nighttime road visibility based on experiments of driver perception for nighttime visibility conditions. METHODS : In the study, perception level and satisfaction of nighttime visibility were investigated. A total of 60 drivers participated, including 34 older drivers and 31 young drivers. To evaluate driver perceptions of nighttime road visibility, fuzzy set theory was used because the conventional analysis methods for driver perception are limited in effectiveness for considering the characteristics of perception which are subjective and vague, and are generally expressed in terms of linguistic terminologies rather than numerical parameters. RESULTS : This study found that levels of nighttime visibility, as perceived by drivers, are remarkably similar to their satisfactions in different nighttime driving conditions with a log-function relationship. Older drivers evaluated unambiguously degree of nighttime visibility but evaluations by young drivers regarding it were unclear. CONCLUSIONS : A minimum value of brightness on roads was established as YUX 30, based on final analyzed results. In other words, road lights should be installed and operated to obtain more than YUX 30 brightness for the safety and comfort of nighttime driving.