Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Keeping Older Drivers Behind the Wheel

Posted by timothy on from the my-dad-should-just-not-drive-ever dept.

Hugh Pickens writes "A new study shows the key role technology can play in extending the age at which people can drive safely and highlights the important psychological role that driving plays in older people's lives in contributing to feelings of independence and freedom and maintaining their quality of life. The study identified ideas for in-car information systems to help compensate for the reduction in reaction time that affects many older drivers. Specific recommendations included a head-up display on the windshield that displays road sign information based on GPS position so the driver doesn't have to keep watching the road side for information and a system to provide the driver with audible feedback on their current speed so the driver doesn't have to look at the dashboard so often. 'Our research highlights issues that have been overlooked by car designers and those advising older people on lifestyles,' says Dr Charles Musselwhite, who led the study. 'The current emphasis on developing technologies which take over part of the driving task may actually end up deterring older drivers. By contrast, better in-car information systems could help them drive safely and ensure they want to keep driving.'"

8 of 260 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Reduction in reaction time? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    Well unfortunately there are a number of studies that would disagree with you.

  2. Fewer signs, more thought by RealGrouchy · · Score: 2, Informative

    The Atlantic recently had a very good article comparing the philosophies of road design in North America versus in Europe.

    In brief: lots of road signs (1) micromanage drivers, (2) make drivers complacent to an individual sign's importance, (3) cause drivers to pay more attention to the side of the road in search of signs and less attention on actual road conditions, and (4) condition drivers to not think for themselves (e.g. driver slower than the limit in poor visibility or in rain).

    The suggestions mentioned in TFAS seem to be an extension of this philosophy.

    Meanwhile, the reason seniors are so isolated when they don't have cars is because North American cities tend to be built as a series of urban islands. With more liveable communities and better-connected public transit, it wouldn't be quite as bad for people of any age to not drive a car when it is not safe for them to do so.

    - RG>

    --
    Hey pal, this isn't a pleasantforest, so don't waste my time with pleasantries!
    1. Re:Fewer signs, more thought by pimpimpim · · Score: 2, Informative
      I am living in Germany, and recently saw a very interesting german tv program about older drivers. Currently there is no law concerning the age of drivers. The producer of the program, who was about 60, showed his mother, 80, driving around his grandmother, of 100 years old. His grandmother still had a valid driver's license, written in the old-style german font!!! "just for emergencies". He convinced his grandmother to turn in her driver's license, and his mother to do a voluntary test of sight and reaction times. She was quite fit, so passed the test.

      Why is this a problem in Germany, a country with a pretty decent public transport system? The elderly are most often those who stay in the villages deep in the country. As small shops close, local doctors merge to a big medical center in a town nearby, they will have to move increasingly large distances as they get older. Financially it is possible only to have about 1-2 buses per day. There are special cheaper taxi services, with long waiting times however.

      If I remember correctly, he mentioned that in 10-20 years, more than 50% of all drivers will be above 60. They will need private transportation, and they will need specialized guidance systems to not make them as dangerous as 20 year old drivers, where the elderly often have the more freaky accidents, making u-turns on the autobahn for example. This will require developments of automation that I am currently a bit skeptical about, but there is no other way. As others mentioned, having more displays, beeps, and warning messages will create more reasons to panic and not mind the road, and is therefore not the way to go.

      --
      molmod.com - computing tips from a molecular modeling
  3. Re:How about this instead by Gandalf_the_Beardy · · Score: 4, Informative

    This is what we do in the UK - your licence expires at 70. You can get it back if you reapply - but only for three years each time. There is also checking done with your GP to be certain you are still fit to drive.

  4. Re:Please no! by techno-vampire · · Score: 4, Informative

    I know you were at least partially joking, but I can tell you how that happens because it used to happen to me, when I was in my mid 50s: my hearing had deteriorated to the point that I often didn't hear the turn signal clicking if I had other things on my mind, so it would, in true Energizer Bunny fashion, keep going and going and going. I finally realized that I had a hearing issue and got hearing aids and it doesn't happen any more. Hearing loss is often gradual, and few people notice it until it's gotten fairly bad, so that elderly driver may simply not realize that they can't quite hear as well as they think they do.

    --
    Good, inexpensive web hosting
  5. Re:Please no! by RobertM1968 · · Score: 3, Informative

    That, sadly will happen to all of you... I mean us... ;-)

    But it will also happen to eyesight, reaction time, ability to accurately gauge/apply brake and/or throttle pressure, etc.

    Warning systems are not adequate to address these issue. I, for one, when I get to that point, will simply sell my car and turn in my license for a State Issued ID. Sounds unbelievable, I know... but my grandmother did something much similar one day with no one prompting her to - and she still drove better than many younger drivers out there... just not good enough by her own judgement I guess.

    Having a brother who is an EMT, and me having regularly driven everything from motorcyles to small trucks to construction equipment to starships, I've gained more than sufficient respect for what damage I can do behind the wheel if I dont take such steps as I get older.

    --
    StarTrekPhase2 - The Five Year Mission Continues!
  6. Re:Thunder! by balloonpup · · Score: 2, Informative

    Oddly enough, this feature is fairly standard in Tractor-Trailers. If you leave your directionals on in a Freightliner Century, among others, the dash display will remind you with a high pitched beep and a "directional on" indicator instead of the usual MPG and odometer readout. This may be because rigs don't tend to have self-canceling blinkers...

    --
    I sing the doggie electric!
  7. Re:Please no! by Sen.NullProcPntr · · Score: 2, Informative

    And to others who have claimed teens have more fatal accidents, I guess it depends on who's study, and what age groups...

    Carnegie Mellon University's Center for the Study and Improvement of Regulation shows that drivers older than 85 have 11.47 fatalities per 100 million miles driven, compared with 3.3 fatalities in the 16-to-20 age group.

    Let's not forget that people over 85 are a bit more fragile than a 16-to-20 year old, easily survivable injures to a young person can be fatal to an older one. Also someone who started driving before seatbelts were invented may be less likely to use them (more likely to be injured/killed in an accident) than a younger driver who has had safety restraints as part of their on road experience from day one of life.

    Random statistics never give the whole picture.