Assessment of Importance of Automotive Characteristics by Older and Younger Drivers

A study was conducted to rank 34 ergonomic characteristics of automobiles by their degree of importance to older and younger drivers. The older drivers were students in AARP driver education classes; the younger drivers were students in university classes. Three geographic locations were sampled. The primary variable analyzed was age, but geographic location, gender, driving experience, and use of glasses were also investigated.

Of the characteristics that were found to be of more than average importance to older drivers, seven were appreciably more important to older drivers than to younger drivers with the “control of glare light” being the most dominant.