Browsing by Author "Kankaanpää, Maija"

Tiivistelmä - Referat - Abstract Objective: Safe driving requires several cognitive skills from the driver, the main role of which is to detect, identify and predict risks. Especially inexperienced drivers have problems while identifying risks, but also aging and illness can weaken human feelings and functions. This affects the person's risk perception and impairs the ability to move safely in traffic. However, it is a challenge to spot the deterioration of the driver's driving ability. A simple method for estimating the driving ability will be a great support in detecting problems related to driving ability. Methods: In this study conducted on Hazard Perception method based test called Ajoarvio, which fits to the Finnish transport culture. The test implied the ability to detect risk situations in traffic. The Ajoarvio -test is a computer-assisted program that shows videos about real driving situations. These videos contain an event that represents potential danger to participants or others. There are also videos where there is no danger. The person should react when he/she detects a risk by clicking on the mouse button. The study included 62 people aged 18 - 68. Results: According to the study, the test was able to distinguish the subjects, and the testing experience significantly improved the results. Negative correlation was also observed between age and test result. So the driving experience improved performance, but ageing may weaken it. The test videos also demonstrated a structure related to the videos, where the videos were interpreted as focusing on three areas: 1. reaction and handling speed; 2. vigilance and situational awareness; and, 3. prediction and dynamic vision. Conclusions: The study shows that the test can detect discrepancies in the ability of the subjects to detect risks in traffic