Volvo Focuses on Safer Cars for Older Drivers

Volvo Car Corp. launches a study addressing driving safety issues for the world's growing population of aging motorists.

“Understanding the driver’s safety needs in the different stages of life is essential for us when designing our cars (for the aging population),” says Thomas Brobeg, senior safety advisor.

Brobeg notes that overall, older drivers have fewer crashes. But they have more accidents at intersections. Volvo is attempting to find out why and possibly design its vehicles to lessen the frequency of these collisions.

“We are building up the knowledge it takes to design safety systems that can help make these situations safer,” Brobeg says.

In collaboration with the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, Volvo studied whether older drivers have different visual search patterns while traveling through intersections.

Two groups of drivers were studied: those over 75 years old and those 35-55 years old. Both drove the same route through intersections, 4-way crossings with signal lights and traffic circles at the same speeds. Investigators measured neck flexibility of drivers in both groups. The results revealed older drivers had less-flexible necks and narrower fields of view.

“During the driving test, our monitoring equipment picked up differences in the area of interest the drivers looked at,” Brobeg says. “While the older drivers looked more at lines and markings on the road in order to position themselves in the traffic, younger drivers focused more on dynamic objects, such as other cars, representing a possible threat.”

Volvo will use the findings for refining the development of new-vehicle preventive safety and support systems.

“The positive spin-off effect is that safety systems that take care of the special needs of older drivers also will be useful for younger drivers,” Brobeg says.

A United Nations study released earlier this year found people over 60 comprise the fastest-growing demographic on the planet. In the developed world, this segment is expected to increase in number by more than 50% over the next four decades; while the developing world will see a tripling of this population over the same timeframe.

– with Eric Mayne