Typical Brake Reaction Times Across the Life Span

This paper provides average brake reaction times for healthy community living adults from 16 to 90+ years of age, divided by gender. Using consistent directions and context, the RT-2S Simple Brake Reaction shows that average brake reactions for males is 0.50 seconds (median = 0.48, minimum = 0.25 maximum = 0.92) and for females is 0.53 seconds (median = 0.51 minimum = 0.30 maximum = 1.36). The use of a brake reaction timer to assess fitness to drive may be useful for clients recovering from orthopedic surgery, while use as a driving determinate of older adults should be done in conjunction with other tools.