Presented at First international conference on driver distraction and inattention (DDI 2009), Gothenburg, Sweden, September 28-29, 2009

There are numerous studies demonstrating the negative effects of cognitive tasks on driving performance. But there are also studies that indicate that drivers might be able to adapt their driving behaviour to these negative effects. Recently, it was found in a driving simulator study that drivers adapted their safety margins when performing steady-state car-following manoeuvres, but did not so when performing overtaking manoeuvres. The aim of our study was to examine this phenomenon under real driving conditions for middle-aged and elderly drivers. The results indicate that elderly drivers compensate for cognitive distraction during car-following manoeuvres whereas middle-aged drivers do not. Additionally, there was no significant compensation behaviour found for overtaking manoeuvres.