Driver Assistance Systems and the Transition to Automated Vehicles: A Path to Increase Older Adult Safety and Mobility?

As operators of motor vehicles, drivers have been described as “outdated . . . with Stone Age characteristics and performance . . . controlling a fast, heavy machine in an environment packed with unnatural, artificial signs and signals” (Rumar, 1981). Despite our anatomical, physiological, and perceptual shortfalls, the fatality rate in the United States hit a historic low of 1.1 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in 2011 (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2011). Fatal crash involvement by VMT increases by age starting in the mid-60s (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 2011), and many individuals begin to curtail or stop driving. However, the cessation of driving due to advanced age comes at great cost. Agerelated losses in the ability to drive equates, at best, to a forfeiture of personal freedom, reliance on the assistance of others to meet basic activities of daily living, and can lead to increased symptoms of depression (Marottoli et al., 1997). Transitions in driving roles occur throughout one’s lifetime. As medical conditions accrue, they can sporadically or permanently limit driving (Owsley, 2004). Women frequently cease driving earlier than men, and often while still fit to drive (Alsnih & Hensher, 2003; Siren, HakamiesBlomqvist, & Lindeman, 2004). Widowhood can increase older women’s need to drive (Braitman & Williams, 2011) at a time when this is particularly challenging. On the other hand, even as adults age, they are becoming increasingly economically able to purchase new vehicles (Coughlin, 2009). As a consequence of both the increased numbers and economic independence of older adults, innovations in personal mobility that mitigate the burdens of age will grow in value over the coming decades. A move toward new urbanism, including improved public transit systems and walkable streets and sidewalks, is an admirable vision that would help meet the growing needs of many older adults. However, it will require, at considerable cost, rebuilding or retrofitting the existing infrastructure at a rate that is not likely to meet the needs of today’s aging boomers. Fully automated or driverless cars, by contrast, represent a path that promises to enhance the mobility options of older adults within the existing infrastructure. However, many consumers do not clearly understand that while the basic building blocks of these systems are available today in advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), fully automated or driverless vehicles are still on the distant horizon. For the foreseeable future, automated vehicle technologies, including ADAS, will continue to rely on a “responsible” driver to oversee the technology, capable of resuming control and having the foresight to make many (yet to be defined) strategic operational decisions. But because of their transformative promise and heavy news coverage, the prospect of automated cars has become a source of great hope for many. Some believe that fully automated cars, capable of navigating the roadways while the “operator” reads a paper or takes a nap, will be available within a few years. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Instead, there is work to be done to increase the awareness and education necessary to spur the purchasing of ADAS available today, which will support many older drivers’ mobility and safety needs.