An approach to vehicle design: in-depth audit to understand the needs of older drivers
File(s)
Accepted version
Published version
Author(s)
Karali, S
Mansfield, NJ
Gyi, DE
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
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.
Date Issued
2016-08-17
Date Acceptance
2016-07-29
Citation
Applied Ergonomics, 2016, 58, pp.461-470
ISSN
1872-9126
Publisher
Elsevier
Start Page
461
End Page
470
Journal / Book Title
Applied Ergonomics
Volume
58
Copyright Statement
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
License URL
Subjects
Human Factors
1116 Medical Physiology
1203 Design Practice And Management
1106 Human Movement And Sports Science
Publication Status
Published