This report is the deliverable to the Accessibility and Equalities Unit, the Department for Transport. It aimed to explore the issues surrounding the use of observation devices for drivers with restricted neck, head or trunk movement. The overall objectives were to identify the observation devices currently available, explore and report on the reliability and safety of these devices, and to make recommendations on the fitting, use training and licensing requirements of the devices. The work was carried out in the following phases: 1. Consultation of key stakeholders to fully understand their concerns regarding the use of observation devices by older and disabled drivers; 2. Review of technologies to identify the observation devices available for use by people with restricted neck/trunk function; 3. User survey to explore the views of people who are already using observation devices or could potentially benefit from them; 4a. In-depth evaluation of seven observation devices, selected with the client following the first three phases, to cover a key range of safety, reliability and usability issues, including: i. Expert heuristic/ergonomic evaluation. ii. Assessment of range of vision/detection; and iii. Inspection of safety of installation. 4b. User testing to assess the ability of the devices to compensate for impairment and to further explore usability issues; and 5. Reporting and recommendations. Main findings of this research are presented for each device in this report. Recommendations were made on use of devices, provision of information to users, training, design of the devices, and licensing policy. (Author/publisher)
Abstract