A questionnaire survey of drivers (n = 903) was conducted covering musculoskeletal symptoms, the vehicle seat, access to specific vehicle features, ingress/egress, driving performance and driving behaviours. Significantly, more discomfort was reported by older drivers (aged 65+) in the hips/thighs/buttocks and knees. Older drivers reported more difficulty parallel parking (p ≤ 0.01), driving on a foggy day (p ≤ 0.01), and turning their head and body to reverse (p ≤ 0.001). They also reported that their reactions were slower than they used to be (p ≤ 0.01). Dissatisfaction was found by all drivers with adjusting the headrest (height and distance), seat belt height and opening/closing the boot. There is a growing population of older people globally, and the number of older drivers is showing a parallel increase. Clearly, efforts are needed to ensure car design of the future is more inclusive of older drivers. Practitioner Summary: This paper describes a questionnaire survey of drivers on their driving experience - the vehicle seat, access to specific vehicle features, ingress/egress, driving performance and driving behaviours. Comparisons are made by age and gender. Issues with driving and vehicle design particularly for older drivers in the UK are identified.
The population of older people continues to increase around the world, and this trend is expected to continue; the population of older drivers is increasing accordingly. January 2012 figures from the DVLA in the UK stated that there were more than 15 million drivers aged over 60; more than 1 million drivers were aged over 80. There is a need for specific research tools to understand and capture how all users interact with features in the vehicle cabin e.g. controls and tasks, including the specific needs of the increasingly older driving population. This paper describes an in-depth audit that was conducted to understand how design of the vehicle cabin impacts on comfort, posture, usability, health and wellbeing in older drivers. The sample involved 47 drivers (38% female, 62% male). The age distribution was: 50-64 (n = 12), 65-79 (n = 20), and those 80 and over (n = 15). The methodology included tools to capture user experience in the vehicle cabin and functional performance tests relevant to specific driving tasks. It is shown that drivers' physical capabilities reduce with age and that there are associated difficulties in setting up an optimal driving position such that some controls cannot be operated as intended, and many adapt their driving cabins. The cabin set-up process consistently began with setting up the seat and finished with operation of the seat belt.
There is a growing population of older people around the world and the population of older drivers is showing a parallel increase. According to 2012 figures of the UK Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency there are more than 15 million people with a driving license aged over 60; more than 1 million of these are over 80. A questionnaire survey of older compared to younger drivers (n=903) and supplementary interviews with drivers aged ≥ 65 years (n=15) were conducted. The questionnaire survey covered: musculoskeletal symptoms, the vehicle seat, access to specific vehicle features, ingress/egress, driving performance and driving behavior. In terms of musculoskeletal symptoms, significantly more discomfort was reported by older drivers in the hips, thighs, buttocks and knees compared to younger drivers. 10.5% of respondents reported that they were dissatisfied with adjusting specific seat features, namely the head rest height, head rest distance from the head and setting the seat belt height. Females reported more difficulty than males. Older males and females (16.8%) reported more difficulties with parallel parking and driving on a foggy day than younger (12.2%) drivers (p < 0.01). Compared to younger drivers, older drivers also reported being less distracted when using navigation systems (25.5% and 19.5% respectively).
Abstract:With increases in life expectancy, there is a growing population of older people around the world. As a result, the population of older drivers is showing a similar increase. Many cars have not been designed to meet the needs of people with age-related disabilities. A questionnaire survey of older and younger drivers (paper/online version n=903) and supplementary interviews with drivers aged ≥ 65 years (n=15) were conducted June-August 2012. Younger drivers were identified as <65 years (53.5%) and older drivers were ≥65 years (46.5%). 7.1% of participants were aged ≥ 80. Older males and females reported more difficulties with parallel parking and driving on a foggy day than younger drivers. Significantly more discomfort was reported by older drivers in the hips, thighs, buttocks and knees compared to younger drivers.
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