High-Tech Cars Too Distracting For Older People: AAA Report

Athena Chan, Tech Times 26 July 2019, 08:07 am

It’s not only mobile phones that are getting smarter, but so are cars. However, it appears that not everyone is coping fast to the technology upgrades.

According to a new report by the AAA Foundation For Traffic Safety, high-tech cars may be too confusing and distracting for older drivers.

AAA Report

For a new report conducted by the University of Utah for AAA, researchers conducted an experiment wherein drivers were divided into two groups: ages 21 to 36 and 55 to 75. Each participant drove a 2018 model car equipped with smart features such as voice activation controls and navigation screens and tasked to send a text, place a call, program the music, and program the navigation system.

Interestingly, while both older and younger drivers found the high-tech features time consuming and demanding, overall, the older drivers experienced more visual and cognitive demand than the younger drivers. In fact, one of the participants, 71-year-old Paul Brown describes the experience as a “comedy of errors” and says he felt as if he was driving dangerously because of the distractions.

Senior Driving

According to researchers, the study confirms how high-tech cars have too much going on for most drivers, and study co-author David Strayer notes that the older drivers who can afford such high-tech vehicles compared to the younger drivers are the ones having more trouble with them. As such, he recommends drivers to test out the features of a car before buying them, especially since the high-tech cars are becoming increasingly distracting.

That’s not saying that senior drivers should not buy smart cars. In fact, the AAA has a guide on how to find the right smart features for senior drivers. The guide takes factors such as cognitive ability, range of motion, motor skills, and leg strength into consideration in looking for a fit that will make the senior driver both comfortable and safe.

That said, it is wise for drivers of any age to only utilize the infotainment technologies of a vehicle if they are really needed or in cases of emergency.