Abstract
This paper describes a longitudinal study on car-following behavior of elderly and non-elderly drivers. We conducted field experiments using an AIST instrumented vehicle in one year and about five years later. The AIST instrumented vehicle was equipped with various sensors and a driving recorder system to measure the vehicle velocity and the relative distance and speed to a lead vehicle. We evaluated distributions of time headway and an acceleration rate according to the movements of the leading vehicle. The results suggested that the time headway of the elderly drivers was longer in the second experiment than that in the first experiment. In contrast, the time headway of the non-elderly drivers was somewhat shorter in the second experiment. The acceleration of the elderly drivers was stronger in the second experiment when the headway distance was opening. Finally, we discussed the changes of the car-following behavior with aging from the viewpoint of controlling task demands.
