Vehicle Safety and Older Occupants

This article reviews recent scientific literature relating to vehicle design and the safety of older road users. The review describes the protection offered by recent technologies and features as well as future vehicle design recommendations. Recent research has identified that many older people are not well informed about vehicle safety issues and do not consider safety as a high priority when purchasing vehicles. Crash statistics suggest that older drivers are not involved in a large number of crashes, but when figures are adjusted for their shorter travel distances, it is clear that they are over-represented in serious injury and fatal crashes compared with younger drivers. Much of this risk can be attributed to their vulnerability or lower injury tolerance once involved in a crash. Compared with younger occupants, older vehicle occupants who sustain injuries, particularly to the chest, are likely to experience more serious consequences and require longer recovery times. The review highlights the need for better vehicle safety design to protect older occupants and better promotion of the benefits of vehicle safety amongst older road users.

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