IIHS researchers used official accident data from 2016-19 to compare road accidents starring elderly drivers.
Advanced technologies and driver assistance systems in cars could face or to eliminate 1/3 of accidents causing injuries and deaths to elderly drivers, according to a new study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
Today, the number of older drivers in the US, Europe and other parts of the world is increasing and drivers have been holding a driver’s license for many years. This reality raises several concerns, as drivers aged 70-80 and over are at greater risk of any type of accident and are more prone to serious injuries and deaths than younger drivers. Decreased vision and age-related cognitive abilities make, for example, accidents more common, especially in the left turn.
IIHS researchers used official accident data from 2016-19 to compare traffic accidents starring elderly drivers. They then calculated how many accidents, injuries and deaths of drivers reported to the police could be dealt with by some driver assistance systems. An important role is played by the connectivity of a car that allows vehicles to share information about their location, speed and planned route.
Systems such as automatic braking or lane avoidance are associated with a large proportion of accidents and provide solutions in case a car has them. Research data show that brighter headlights and related improvements allow the driver to detect hazards earlier, while the front-facing detection system largely prevents the risk of an accident. An important role is also played by the detection of the blind spot, which warns the driver of vehicles that are not visible and that move on the side. Avoiding collisions in the event of a left or right turn can be avoided by using a camera to monitor and ultimately allow the car to turn or intervene to stop in the event of an emergency.
What is certain is that driver assistance systems have begun to fit into modern cars and have raised the level of driver safety. For example, the cost of acquiring a car may be higher due to the specific systems, but they contribute decisively to the reduction of accidents and injuries, by raising the levels of driving safety.
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