Analysis on acceptance of elderly drivers for intelligent speed adaptation using a driving simulator

This paper aims to make a discussion on acceptability of elderly drivers for Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA) in Japan. In Japan, the issue focusing on the traffic safety of elderly people has become one of most important issues because Japan has been the most representative country to be the rapidly ageing society. As a measure of traffic safety, the ISA is considered as an effective measure to reduce the number of traffic accidents in the field of ITS (Intelligent Transportation Systems) because the adaptable driving speeds let the traffic flow smoothly and stably. Generally, there are three modes regarding the ISA: 1. advisory mode, in which the driving speed information is provided to the driver as the system detects that the vehicle is moving beyond the enforced speed limit; 2. mandatory mode, by which the driving speed is regulated by the ISA so as not to exceed the allowable speed; 3. voluntary mode, which extricate the mandatory mode and grant the driver full control of the vehicle’s acceleration. Normally, the mandatory type is the most effective one but is difficult to introduce because of too many obstacles such as the freedom of personal choice, the limitation for the automobile technology and so on. Comparatively the advisory type seems to be the easiest one to introduce. The analysis is based on an experiment by using a driving simulator. The targeted issues focus on the acceptances of both advisory mode and mandatory mode for the elderly driver because grasping of the acceptances for the ISA is absolutely essential to implement the novel system for the ageing society of Japan. As the conclusion of the paper, the acceptances of the elderly drivers for both mandatory ISA and advisory ISA on the community roads are generally high.