ALCOHOL, AGING AND DRIVING PERFORMANCE

美国和许多工业化社会一样，正在老龄化。的平均数 美国人正在增加，而且在可预见的将来还会继续增加 未来。种种迹象表明，这种趋势至少将持续一段时间。 接下来的几十年。一个特别令人担忧的领域是驾驶，一个 需要各种身体和认知技能的操作，许多 众所周知，它们会随着年龄的增长而变化。在我们的社会中，可能有 对于老年人来说，没有什么文件比 驾照。然而，人们对这种变化知之甚少。 老年人的驾驶表现，更是知之甚少 酒精与乙醇的相互作用对驾驶性能的影响 衰老。越来越多的人认识到，酒精在 比以前认识到的人口年龄更大。其中一些 以前归因于衰老过程本身的症状现在似乎 至少在一定程度上与这个年龄段的饮酒有关。多么 酒精与衰老的相互作用在很大程度上影响驾驶性能 未知。大多数州将0.10%的BAC定义为醉酒的法律定义 驾驶，部分因为这个法律定义，许多司机 相信在较低的高度驾驶是安全的。然而，众所周知， 损伤发生在较低的水平，老年人可能更多 受一定量酒精影响的。也有一些建议 女性在低酒精水平下可能会有更高的撞车风险 和男人相比。此外，人们对酒精是如何 睡眠不足会影响驾驶性能。它是 知道与酒精有关的撞车事故更有可能发生在 夜间，但饮酒和睡眠不足的人更多 很可能在这些时候发生。这个项目试图调查 系统地分析了影响驾驶性能的一些关键因素，以及 测量低水平的酒精如何相互作用来影响表现。 总体目标是研究酒精之间的相互关系。 使用、老化和驾驶性能。该项目的具体目标 包括：1)确定低度酒精对驾驶的影响 性能受年龄、性别和驱动复杂性等因素的影响 具体来说：a)确定血液低水平的程度 酒精作为年龄的函数改变特定的驾驶技能；b)检查 酒精老化对驾驶相关技能的影响如何作为一种函数变化 性别；c)测量酒精老化对驾驶相关的影响 技能随着驾驶复杂性的不同而不同；以及2)评估 酒精老化对睡眠对驾驶性能的影响 剥夺。 这项研究的发现应该为以下方面提供有价值的信息 就老年人的饮酒和驾驶问题向他们提供咨询 应澄清问题，以便进一步调查。

America, like much of industrialized society, is aging. The average of American is increasing and will continue to increase for the foreseeable future. There is every indication this trend will continue for at least the next several decades. One area of special concern is driving, an operation that requires a variety of physical and cognitive skills, many of which are known to change with age. In our society there is probably no document that is more highly valued by the older person than the license to drive. Yet, relatively little is known about the changing driving performance of older person, and even less is known concerning the effects on driving performance of the interaction of alcohol with aging. There is growing recognition that alcohol is more widely used in the older population than was previously recognized. Some of the symptoms previously attributed to the aging process itself now appear to be related, at least in part, to alcohol use in this age group. How alcohol interacts with aging to affect driving performance is largely unknown. Most states define 0.10% BAC as the legal definition of drunken driving, and in part because of this legal definition, many drivers believe that it is safe to drive at lower levels. However, it is known that impairment occurs at lower levels and that older persons may be more affected by a given amount of alcohol. There is also some suggestion that women may be at higher risk of crash at low levels of alcohol in comparison to men. In addition, very little is known about how alcohol interacts with sleep deprivation to affect driving performance. It is known that alcohol-related crashes are more likely to occur during nighttime hours, but both alcohol use and sleep deprivation are more likely to occur at these times. This project seeks to investigate systematically some of the key factors related to driving performance and measure how low levels of alcohol interact to affect performance. The overall objective is to examine the interrelationships among alcohol use, aging and driving performance. The specific aims of the project include: 1) to determine the effects of low levels of alcohol on driving performance as a function of age, gender, and driving complexity and more specifically: a) to determine the degree to which low levels of blood alcohol alter specific driving skills as a function of age; b) to examine how alcohol-aging effects on driving-related skills vary as a function of gender; c) to measure how alcohol-aging effects on driving-related skills vary as a function of driving complexity; and 2) to assess the alcohol-aging effects on driving performance as a function of sleep deprivation. The findings from this research should provide valuable information for counseling older persons regarding their alcohol use and driving and should clarify issues for further investigation.