Investigating On-Road Lane Maintenance and Speed Regulation in Post-Stroke Driving: A Pilot Case–Control Study
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School of Tourism and Geography Science, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China
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School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Curtin University, Perth 6845, Australia
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School of Science, RMIT University, Melbourne 3001, Australia
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School of Occupational Therapy and Social Work, Curtin University, Perth 6845, Australia
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Department of Transport, Perth 6000, Australia
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School of Health Sciences, Jönköping University, 551 11 Jönköping, Sweden
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Rehabilitation Medicine, Department of Medicine and Health Sciences (IMH), Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping University & Pain and Rehabilitation Centre, UHL, County Council, 581 83 Linköping, Sweden
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School of Occupational Therapy, La Trobe University, Melbourne 3083, Australia
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Geriatrics 2021, 6(1), 16; https://doi.org/10.3390/geriatrics6010016
Received: 13 January 2021 / Revised: 29 January 2021 / Accepted: 6 February 2021 / Published: 9 February 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Driving, Aging, Safety and Health)
Stroke can adversely affect the coordination and judgement of drivers due to executive dysfunction, which is relatively common in the post-stroke population but often undetected. Quantitatively examining vehicle control performance in post-stroke driving becomes essential to inspect whether and where post-stroke older drivers are risky. To date, it is unclear as to which indicators, such as lane keeping or speed control, can differentiate the driving performance of post-stroke older drivers from that of normal (neurotypical) older drivers. By employing a case–control design using advanced vehicle movement tracking and analysis technology, this pilot study aimed to compare the variations in driving trajectory, lane keeping and speed control between the two groups of older drivers using spatial and statistical techniques. The results showed that the mean standard deviation of lane deviation (SDLD) in post-stroke participants was higher than that of normal participants in complex driving tasks (U-turn and left turn) but almost the same in simple driving tasks (straight line sections). No statistically significant differences were found in the speed control performance. The findings indicate that, although older drivers can still drive as they need to after a stroke, the decline in cognitive abilities still imposes a higher cognitive workload and more effort for post-stroke older drivers. Future studies can investigate post-stroke adults’ driving behaviour at more challenging driving scenarios or design driving intervention programs to improve their executive function in driving.
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Keywords:
post-stroke drivers; vehicle movement trajectory; standard deviation of lane deviation; speed control
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MDPI and ACS Style
Zhou, H.; Sun, Q.; Blane, A.; Hughes, B.; Falkmer, T.; Xia, J. Investigating On-Road Lane Maintenance and Speed Regulation in Post-Stroke Driving: A Pilot Case–Control Study. Geriatrics 2021, 6, 16. https://doi.org/10.3390/geriatrics6010016
AMA Style
Zhou H, Sun Q, Blane A, Hughes B, Falkmer T, Xia J. Investigating On-Road Lane Maintenance and Speed Regulation in Post-Stroke Driving: A Pilot Case–Control Study. Geriatrics. 2021; 6(1):16. https://doi.org/10.3390/geriatrics6010016
Chicago/Turabian StyleZhou, Heng; Sun, Qian; Blane, Alison; Hughes, Brett; Falkmer, Torbjörn; Xia, Jianhong 2021. "Investigating On-Road Lane Maintenance and Speed Regulation in Post-Stroke Driving: A Pilot Case–Control Study" Geriatrics 6, no. 1: 16. https://doi.org/10.3390/geriatrics6010016
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