Detroit is already finding ways to design–and pitch–its products to older driv-ers. Take the Lincoln Town Car, a favorite among the elderly (buyers’ average age is 67). It features two sets of radio and air-conditioning controls, one on the dashboard and one on the steering wheel. The reason: older drivers have trouble shifting their attention from the car’s controls back to the road, so putting a set on the wheel minimizes the distraction. Devices that improve visibility are key, too. Mercedes’s newest models sport special xenon headlamps that reduce glare; Cadillac’s electrochromatic rearview mirrors automatically dim when hit with blinding headlights. Designers at GM have decided not to place temperature gauges or electronic compasses too high on the dashboard, where they might be tough to see through bifocals. They’re also working to redesign door handles and gear shifters to make them easier to operate for arthritis sufferers. (Gear shifters, which typically require the driver to press a button with a thumb, are especially tricky for people with aching finger joints.) Chrysler is touting its new family sedans as having more legroom around the doors (easier to get in and out) and bigger trunks (for golf clubs or folded wheelchairs). Engineers are also experimenting with collision-avoidance systems, which sound warnings when a driver is too close to another car. To guard against obstacles farther down the road, engineers are looking into what could be done with infrared night-vision technology, such as the army uses. Most of these new technologies help all drivers–though some experts worry that the gizmos may be just accident-causing distractions, especially for older people who aren’t comfortable with new technologies.
The most important innovations lie far from the front seat. At the University of Alabama, researchers have put 10,000 seniors through a sophisticated ““field of useful vision’’ test. Drivers react as images flash for fractions of a second on a 20-inch, touch-sensitive screen. Results suggest the test can predict with 90 percent accuracy whether an elderly driver is at risk for an accident. But these tests face some speed bumps. The powerful AARP (the senior citizens’ lobbying group) opposes testing for the elderly as discriminatory, although 10 states have already tightened licensing requirements. Even if more states follow suit, tight budgets limit how much fancy testing can be done.
Government penny pinchers might also quash other expensive fixes researchers are studying. Among them: simplifying intersections–where most accidents involving elderly drivers happen–or developing smart highway systems that work as a sort of autopilot. And keeping older people out of the driver’s seat may mean paying for improved public transportation. Detroit is hoping that its new engineering can keep the elderly safely on the
