Initial Investigation of Elderly Drivers’ Acceptability for Proactive Intervention by Intelligent Vehicle

In this study, we focused on the acceptability of elderly drivers for proactive collision avoidance systems that operate several seconds before drivers enter dangerous situations. To understand the reasons and mechanisms of acceptance and refusal, we conducted an experiment using a driving simulator. In addition, we investigated the individual characteristics using questionnaires such as DSQ, WSQ, and NEO-PI-R. As a result, while many elderly drivers accepted proactive braking intervention, more than half did not accept proactive steering intervention. Furthermore, in this study, we classified evaluations of elderly driver for proactive collision avoidance systems into specific groups to better understand the mechanisms behind their acceptance and refusal. For some cases, we confirmed that drivers’ characteristics represented in the questionnaires seemed to be the reasons of refusals for the proactive intervention systems. Finally, we proposed new approaches, including use of haptic systems for shared controls and visual human machine interface devices for information sharing, as ways to improve the acceptance by elderly drivers towards the next step.