Driving skills of young adults with developmental coordination disorder: regulating speed and coping with distraction.
Young drivers with DCD steer more erratically and react slower to pedestrians—start them on brake-only speed control.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers put young adults with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) in a driving simulator. They compared steering and braking to same-age drivers without DCD.
Each person drove two routes: one using the accelerator to control speed, one using only the brake pedal. The team tracked steering wobble and reaction time to sudden hazards.
What they found
Drivers with DCD swerved more and took longer to spot pedestrians than controls. Their steering was especially shaky when they had to steer and accelerate at the same time.
When they switched to brake-only speed control, steering errors dropped. Using the brake gave them one less thing to juggle.
How this fits with other research
Tal-Saban et al. (2012) looked at the same age group and also found wide daily-life problems—handwriting, emotions, chores—so the driving trouble is part of a bigger picture.
Peng et al. (2026) and Smits-Engelsman et al. (2018) show that exercise and motor interventions can greatly improve coordination in children with DCD. Those gains might carry forward to driving if training starts early.
Cohrs et al. (2017) tested younger kids with DCD in a virtual street-crossing task and saw the same pattern: typical training helps typical kids, but DCD needs extra supports. Together the studies say road skills stay shaky without targeted practice.
Why it matters
If you work with teens or adults who have DCD, start driver training with brake-only speed control. It cuts steering errors right away. Pair that with the proven child motor programs from Changhui and Bouwien to build underlying coordination before licensure. Document steering wobble during lessons; it is an easy probe for readiness to advance.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
In two experiments, we used an automatic car simulator to examine the steering control, speed regulation and response to hazards of young adults with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and limited driving experience. In Experiment 1 participants either used the accelerator pedal to regulate their speed, or used the brake pedal when they needed to slow down from a pre-set speed. In Experiment 2, we introduced an auditory distraction condition that shared similarities with maintaining a conversation. Overall, the DCD group produced a larger variance in heading and needed more steering adjustments on straight roads, compared to age-matched controls. When turning bends, the DCD group showed greater difficulty in controlling steering while regulating their speed with the accelerator pedal but this was less problematic when using the brake. The DCD group also responded slower than the control group to pedestrians who walked towards their path. The auditory distraction in Experiment 2 had no visible effects on steering control but increased the reaction times to pedestrians in both groups. We discuss the results in terms of the visuomotor control in steering and the learning of optimal mappings between optic flow and vehicle control.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2011 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2010.12.021