Should older people be considered a homogeneous group when interacting with level 3 automated vehicles?

• Published in: Transportation research. Part F, Traffic psychology and behaviour Traffic psychology and behaviour, 2021-04, Vol.78, p.446-465
• Main Authors: Li, Shuo, Blythe, Phil, Zhang, Yanghanzi, Edwards, Simon, Xing, Jin, Guo, Weihong, Ji, Yanjie, Goodman, Paul, Namdeo, Anil
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age; Automation; Design of experiments; Driving simulator; Electric vehicles; Highly automated vehicles; Human factors; Independent variables; Level 3 automated vehicle; Mobility; Older drivers; Older people; Studies; Subgroups; Takeover control; Traffic accidents & safety; User requirements; Vehicle automation
• ISSN: 1369-8478; 1873-5517
• DOI: 10.1016/j.trf.2021.03.004

[Display omitted] •Quantitative driving simulator study with 39 older drivers.•Comparing performance of two subgroups of older people interacting with L3 AV.•Older people should not be considered as a homogeneous group in L3 AV.•Older people aged 60–69 exhibited better performance than those aged 70 and over.•Both two age groups exhibited positive attitude towards L3 AV. Exploring the future mobility of older people is imperative for maintaining wellbeing and quality of life in an ageing society. The forthcoming level 3 automated vehicle may potentially benefit older people. In a level 3 automated vehicle, the driver can be completely disengaged from driving while, under some circumstances, being expected to take over the control occasionally. Existing research into older people and level 3 automated vehicles considers older people to be a homogeneous group, but it is not clear if different sub-groups of old people have different performance and perceptions when interacting with automated vehicles. To fill this research gap, a driving simulator investigation was conducted. We adopted a between-subjects experimental design with subgroup of old age as the independent variable. The differences in performance, behaviour, and perception towards level 3 automated vehicles between the younger old group (60–69 years old) and older old group (70 years old and over) was investigated. 15 subjects from the younger old group (mean age = 64.87 years, SD = 3.46 years) and 24 from the older old group (mean age = 75.13 years, SD = 3.35 years) participated in the study. The findings indicate that older people should not be regarded as a homogeneous group when interacting with automated vehicle. Compared to the younger old people, the older old people took over the control of the vehicle more slowly, and their takeover was less stable and more critical. However, both groups exhibited positive perceptions towards level 3 automation, and the of older old people’s perceptions were significantly more positive. This study demonstrated the importance of recognising older people as a heterogeneous group in terms of their performance, capabilities, needs and requirements when interacting with automated vehicles. This may have implications in the design of such systems and also understanding the market for autonomous mobility.