Over the summer of 2014 Rica (Research Institute for Consumer Affairs) carried out a survey of 471 motorists over 55 years old to identify views and experiences of new in-car safety technology. This survey was carried out by Rica and funded by Motability and GEM Motoring Assist. Older drivers continue to use their vehicles long into their later years with 50% of our 85+ year old respondents stating they are not thinking of giving up driving. Many older people are concerned about safety whilst driving, citing their physical decline alongside the increased demands of busy roads as particular worries. The majority of our respondents were: * Not very aware of available technologies that might support safer driving in later life; * Welcoming of in-vehicle information systems; and * Suspicious of fully autonomous technologies, except when used in an emergency. The results from this survey support a broader investigation into in-car safety technology and older people. This further work reviews the key literature contributions from academia and positions them alongside expert opinions from industry and the third sector. Rica believes there is a need to better understand the performance of in-vehicle information systems and the older population and propose usability evaluations as a means to achieve this. (Author/publisher)
Abstract