Driving performance and susceptibility to simulator sickness: are they related?

We examined whether participants who failed to complete a simulated drive because of simulator sickness (dropouts) differed from those who completed the simulation (completers). Thirteen healthy older adult dropouts (mean age = 74.8 yr) and 12 comparable completers were compared on the following variables: on-road driving performance, the Useful Field of View test, the Attention Network Test, and the Trail Making Test Part A. Results showed that completers scored more demerit points during the on-road drive than did dropouts. In addition, only 1 of 13 comparisons based on participants' cognition was statistically significant. These results suggest that in healthy senior drivers, simulator sickness does not prevent examination of those who need it most (i.e., those with the poorest on-road driving performance) and that cognitive differences are not associated with dropping out because of simulator sickness.