Investigating the impact of attentional declines on road- crossing strategies of older pedestrians

The main reason for older pedestrians for being involved in accidents is related to attentional deficits. The aim of the current research is to investigate the link between attention and road crossing strategies of older persons. Two group discussions were carried out to investigate what types of crossing locations are perceived as dangerous. Additionally, an observation interview was conducted including 102 pedestrians of three age groups at six different crossings. Based on these investigations a questionnaire was developed examining attention, behaviour and risk perception in road crossing. The questionnaire consists of eight different crossing situations. Participants have to estimate the risk and indicate their crossing strategies by choosing possible actions from a predefined set. Additionally, they answer twelve items with regard to their experience of attention-critical traffic situations. Seventy-eight participants filled in the questionnaire, half of them were over the age of 65 years, the other half younger than 35 years. It turned out that road crossing behaviour varies with age as well as with the type and the size of the road. In contrast, estimation of risk does not depend on age. Surprisingly, reported attention deficits turned out to be more present in younger than in older participants. Potential reasons for the findings and the relevance of different behavioural strategies for traffic safety are discussed.