New technology being trialled in the UK is set to enable older drivers to prolong their driving careers.
Scientists at Newcastle University have built an “emotionally intelligent” electric car that aims to make driving a safer long term proposition for seniors.
The Peugeot, dubbed “Drivelab”, is fitted with a number of devices including sensors that assist with parking blind spots, “forward-facing radars” that warn drivers how close they are to other vehicles, as well as “heads up” dashboard displays projected on to the windscreen.
The vehicle is also fitted with biometric technology that monitors heart rates and cardiovascular health.
The team hope the vehicle will provide a partway for new technology that will instil confidence in drivers over 65 and keep them safely on the road for longer.
And there could be a real market for vehicles fitted with this sort of technology both straight from the factory and retrospectively.
Figures from the UK Transport Department show that on British roads the number of older drivers on the roads is constantly increasing, in fact up to six million senior drivers are on UK roads, that’s up from less than a million just a few decades ago.
Project leader Phil Blythe says as we get older our vision and reaction times are affected.
“The result is that people stop driving before they really need to. We are looking at ways of keeping people driving safely for longer, which in turn boosts independence and keeps us socially connected.”
