Research on Braking Ability of Elderly Drivers

In order to study the difference in braking ability of drivers with different ages, five virtual scenarios of road intersections with traffic risks were established for driving simulation experiments. The brake data of 14 young and middle-aged drivers and 14 elderly drivers who encountered traffic risks and expert drivers’ subjective evaluation of the risk were collected. Firstly, risk scenarios were classified accord to the degree of driver conflict and the subjective evaluation of expert drivers. Then compare and analyze the driver’s brake pedal depth in five scenarios, distances of three braking processes were calculated and added to get the braking distance. At last, correlation analysis was taken between braking distance and age after fitting with Matlab. From the result of analysis, young and middle-aged drivers will step on the brake pedal in advance to maintain a safe speed. Braking distance grows with age, the braking distance of the elderly driver is generally longer than that of the young and middle-aged driver, indicating that the elderly driver has reduced risk response ability due to weaknesses such as weak body and slow reaction. It is easy to brake in a high-risk situation and cause traffic accidents.