The application of in-vehicle systems for elderly drivers

[摘要] PurposeIn response to the rapidly ageing global population, the purpose of this paper is to identify the problems of elderly drivers and their relation to emerging in-vehicle technologies.MethodsThe method is three fold. Firstly, it reviews factors involved in the functional decline of elderly drivers. Secondly, it assesses the feedback and support capabilities of in-vehicle systems (IVSs) with the potential to assist elderly people to drive safely for longer and maintain their quality of life. Lastly, it describes a newly funded project, Social inclusion through Digital Economy (SiDE), which will demonstrate an innovative application of driving simulator technology to test and evaluate the impact of emerging invehicle systems on elderly drivers. This project intends to assess whether it makes them less vulnerable road users.ConclusionThe paper concludes that IVSs providing feedback and support to elderly drivers have the potential to help them recognize their weakness and vulnerability as road users and improve their driving performance through the use of advice, alerts, warnings or active interventions.

[发布日期] 2010-10-10

[关键词] Elderly driver;Vulnerable road user;Driver feedback;Driver support;In-vehicle system