The effects of aging on driving (Part 2 – Cognitive abilities)

How to continue driving safely with the passing years...

While the first blog in this series addressed the effects of aging on eyesight, this second article will consider how aging can impact one’s cognitive abilities.
But there is a silver lining! People who remain healthy as they age will not necessarily find their cognitive abilities affected. Yet there will usually be specific skills that will be positively or negatively touched over time. Below are two important aspects to consider in relation you’re your cognitive abilities and driving.

The speed at which information is processed.

The brain’s ability to amass information, which mostly relies on sight while driving, is at its peak in late adolescence. Beginning around the age of 35, the brain begins to need more time to analyze the elements it perceives. What this means is that an 18-year old will react significantly faster than a 75-year old when faced with a same situation.
The other issue that comes into play is whether the decisions we make as we age are the right ones or not. This second aspect is very important.

Crystallized intelligence.

This element, which is essentially the brain’s ability to rely on a person’s experience, skills and knowledge, reaches its zenith at around 45 to 50 years of age. One of the things it enables people to do is better manage stress, by linking present circumstances with similar past events. One example of this would be the ability to “foresee” another driver’s behaviour in a given situation; another one would be the ability to regain control of a vehicle after a skid. As a general rule, this second ability remains stable over time and only begins to diminish at the end of one’s life.

In a perfect world, everyone would have a wealth of experience and the ability to process information at the speed of lightning! Unfortunately, the human brain does not work that way.

That being said, there are ways of giving our grey matter a nudge. A brain needs to be stimulated to remain healthy, both through physical and mental activity. As the old expression goes: “Use it or lose it”.

Test your cognitive abilities:
Gamewithwords.org
Testmybrain.org

Source : https://www.letemps.ch/sciences/performances-cerveau-evoluent-lage-ne-declinent​

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