The effects of aging and driving experience on reaction times of professional drivers

Background Professional drivers are part of the active working population, so there is a need for continuous improvement of operating efficiency and safety in driving. Reaction time is a very important driver's trait. Objective The aim of this study was to examine the effects of age and driving experience on reaction times of professional drivers. Methods This study assesses part of driving efficiency of professional drivers by measuring simple reaction time and complex reaction time which are important to driving safety. Reaction times of 278 male professional drivers were tested using a hardware-software system for determining the speed of response to psychomotor simple and complex audio-visual stimuli. Results Our results showed a positive correlation between ageing and slowing of reaction times. This suggests that the natural ageing process clearly slows down reaction times. Conclusions The response times of professional drivers are more dependent on age than on driving experience.