What factors account for age-related decline in hazard perception ability of older drivers?

Hazard perception ability has been tied to crash risk in older adult populations. In this study a sample of 118 older Australian drivers aged 65+ completed a video-based hazard perception test and an assessment battery designed to measure aspects of cognitive ability, vision and simple reaction time as these might be linked with hazard perception ability. The data showed that hazard perception response times significantly increased with increasing age. However, it was also found that contrast sensitivity and Useful Field of View (UFOV) performance could in large part account for this age-related increase in hazard perception response times. Contrast sensitivity, UFOV and simple reaction time accounted for the variance in hazard perception, independent of one another and of individual differences in age. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.