New in-vehicle technologies for the mobility of the elderly

Starting point for this analysis are the mobility needs and requirements of elderly, as well as problems concerning access and use of public transport . Elderly people as car drivers suffer from several performance deficits wh ich are currently compensated by mobility restrictions and changed driving behaviour. Driver assistance systems, just available or soon on the market, are demonstrated and analysed with respect to their impact on elderly driv ers. An expert evaluation comes to the conclusion that the most important s ystems for elderly are: emergency systems, enhanced vision systems and park ing aids. Emergency systems can call rescue teams automatically or at drive r's request, and direct them to the emergency location. Self imposed restri ctions of elderly concerning night driving can partly be compensated by mea ns of curve lightning and automatic dipping. parking aids, using cameras or infrared technique are especially helpful for persons with movability prob lems. The group of helpful, but not highly important driver assistance syst ems covers several means for longitudinal and lateral control of the car, c omprising autonomous cruise control, antilock systems and electronic stabil ity programmes. The value and impact of these systems are analysed in the l ight of risk homeostasis theory. Reduced work load and ease of mobility wil l at last result from user centered navigation systems, helping the elder d river also to move to new areas without orientational problems. The article demonstrates the particular importance of specific layouts of the man-mach ine-interface for elderly, to guarantee high acceptance and minimal distrac tion from traffic.