Asian Journal of Occupational Therapy
Online ISSN : 1347-3484
Print ISSN : 1347-3476
ISSN-L : 1347-3476
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Differences between older and younger drivers in a Japanese road sign recognition task
Tsutomu SasakiKyohei YamadaTakao KojimaKunihiro KanayaKazuki UmedaYusuke Nakajima
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2016 Volume 12 Issue 1 Pages 17-22

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Abstract

Recent years, cases in which an occupational therapist is involved in the evaluation of patients' driving ability are rapidly increasing in Japan. One of the neuropsychological tests which are predictive of driving ability is a road sign recognition task (RSR). However, no RSR available in Japan has yet been reported. Hence, in this study, we developed a Japanese version of road sign recognition task (J-RSR). A total of 44 younger drivers and 43 older drivers living in the community took part in the study. We compared the number of correct answers and the total time taken to complete the task between the two groups. Results showed that there was no statistically significant differences for the number of correct answer (p = 0.43), while older drivers took significantly much longer than younger drivers to complete the task (p < 0.000001). Qualitative analysis on incorrect answer for each question revealed that older drivers chose the same incorrect road sign answer while younger drivers chose incorrect answer evenly among options. These results suggest that J-RSR is predictive of knowledge of road sign, non-verbal reasoning ability, mental speed, and might reflects subjects' driving experience.

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© 2016 Japanese Association of Occupational Therapists
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