"The big issue is whether there is a good way to predict who is likely to be an unsafe driver."

--Matthew Rizzo, M.D..

Driving risk factors

Age-related conditions aren't the only factors that may make people risky drivers. Others include:

• Medications
• Neurological disorders (mild Alzheimer's or Parkinson's)
• Brain injury from stroke or head injury
• Lack of sleep

UI neurologist uses driving simulator to evaluate driving risk factors

Surrounded by projection screens, a blue Saturn sedan sits conspicuously in a room at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

If you look closely, you can see several tiny video cameras inside the car,

and a glance under the hood gives a whole new meaning to the term "souped-up."

In the space where the engine normally resides sets is an array of electronic instrumentation that turns this ordinary vehicle into a high-fidelity driving simulator known as the Simulator for Interdisciplinary Research in Ergonomics and Neuroscience (SIREN). These instruments allow Matthew Rizzo, M.D., a professor of neurology, engineering, and public policy, and his colleagues to record and analyze the actions and reactions of the driver.

It also allows them to look for scientific answers to the commonly asked questions such as 'when and how do age-related deficits make a person an unsafe driver?'

"We want to develop a series of simple and reliable tests that can be easily administered," Rizzo said.

SIREN may be less well-known than UI's other driving technology, the National Advanced Driving Simulator (NADS), which has the largest motion base of any simulator in the world. However, Rizzo and his collaborators describe the early results from their SIREN tests to be very exciting.

"We are not interested in studying vehicle dynamics in the way that NADS can," Rizzo said. "Rather, we use SIREN to study how drivers react and act under various conditions."

UI researchers use SIREN as a tool to collect data on driver behavior and study what affects that behavior. Multiple sensors collect information from the simulator, including the positions of the steering wheel, the brake, and accelerator pedals. Cameras observe the driver's gaze and also the driver's feet, and a device mounted on a baseball cap worn by the driver allows researchers to track a driver's eye movements and examine how he or she scans their visual environment.

The simulator's sophisticated computer programs can generate multiple driving situations involving other vehicles. These scenarios are projected onto the screen surrounding the simulator and provide drivers with both front and back views of on-road scenes.

The researchers can program the virtual vehicles to drive legally or illegally. For example, a virtual car may enter an intersection illegally and unexpectedly create the potential for a crash, or a virtual car in front of the simulator driver may brake suddenly.

Researchers also conduct studies using an instrumented car called ARGOS (Automobile for Research in Ergonomics and Safety) that is actually driven on the roads.

The research team, in collaboration with Digital Artefacts, P.C., at the UI Oakdale campus, also has developed a new PC-based driving simulator tool.

This tool was inspired by the modern aviation information displays found in sophisticated airplanes and used by pilots to monitor the skies. Using enhanced visual cues, the tool allows excellent situation awareness on a small screen and can be used to test drivers' decision-making and other abilities.

In addition to these hi-tech devices, the researchers use cognitive and visual tests to analyze driver abilities including visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, and motion perception.

"It is very important that we consider all the evidence, from neuropsychological tests to hi-fi simulations, and examine what the relationships are among performances on these tests," Rizzo said.

For more information about the research of Rizzo and his colleagues, visit http://www.uiowa.edu/~neuroerg/index.html.

Volunteers needed for driving study

If you are a licensed driver 60 years of age or older, you may be eligible to participate in a University of Iowa Health Care study on prediction of driver safety. Study participants will be asked to take computer tests, fill out questionnaires, and drive the driving simulator at UI Hospitals and Clinics. Compensation is available. For more information, call UI Health Access toll-free and ask for research assistant Ida Kellison, or call Kellison directly at 319-356-2240. Please specify having seen this article in PACEMAKER.

It's a life-like view from behind the wheel of the SIREN driving simulator, here piloted by study volunteer Robert Eldridge of Iowa City.

Members of the driving simulator team include, from left: Matt Rizzo, M.D., Ida Kellison, Rebecca Sheffield, Sean Mcevoy, and Tom Dietras.