Whatmightthewidespreadadoptionoffully-autonomousvehiclesmeanforolderpeople’smobilityandtheirsafetyontheroad?

IANSHERGOLD.RESEARCHFELLOW,CENTREFORTRANSPORTANDSOCIETY, UNIVERSITYOFTHEWESTOFENGLAND,BRISTOL

Amobilityvisionforthefuture…

…Aworldinwhichpeoplewalk,cycle,anduseasharedfleetofelectricautonomousvehiclestogetaround.Theremightbenoprivatecarsorparking,moreefficientlanduse,moreaffordableurban

housing,andbuiltenvironmentsthatbetterpromotecommunity.Inthisworld,adultsseamlesslymaintaintheirsocialconnectionsandactivitiesoutsidethe

homeastheyage*.*Fitt,H.,Curl,A.,Dionisio-McHugh,R.,Fletcher,A.,Frame,B.,&Ahuriri-Driscoll,A.(2018).ThinkPiece:Autonomousvehiclesandfutureurbanenvironments:Exploringimplicationsforwellbeinginanageingsociety(Seconded.).Christchurch,NZ

“Driverlesscarstosetelderlyfree”–TheTimes

“ThefutureofGoogle'sdriverlesscarisoldpeople”- TheWashingtonPost

Agenda1. Autonomousvehicles(AV)2. TheFlourishProject3. Whatdotheolderpeopleinourstudy

thinkarethebenefits?4. Potentialimpactsonroadsafety

• Saferdrivers• Saferroads• Saferstreets

5. DeliveringAVsolutionsforolderpeople◦ Implementationandpolicychallenges

6. Conclusions

Whatdowemeanbyautonomousvehicles,ordriverlesscarsspecifically?

1. Autonomybuildsondriveraids,e.g.AdvancedDriverAssistanceSystems(ADAS)

2. Levelsofautonomy:1-5(5=nosteeringwheelorpedals,handsoff,eyesoff)

3. Mobilityequityreliesonlevel5

http://www.seminartoday.net/

Autonomousvehicles– Evolutionandrevolution,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WaymoCreativeCommonsAttribution-ShareAlike4.0Internationallicense. https://caprimobility.com/

TheFlourishprojectOurgoalsandapproach

Goal:Toadvancethesuccessfulimplementationofconnectedandautonomousvehicles(CAVs)inthe

UK

Threeyear,£multi-million,co-fundedbyindustry.DeliveredinpartnershipwithInnovateUK.SupportstheFutureofMobility

GrandChallenge.Researchquestion:Howmightthe technologybeharnessedtoenhanceandenablemobilityforolderadultsandthosewithmobility-relatedconditions- contributing

tothedevelopmentofamoreinclusivesociety?

TheFlourishproject– method

User-focusedapproachOver230membersofthepublicinvolvedinresearch

Younger-oldandolder-old Trials,focusgroups,workshopsandinterviews

100olderpeopleinsimulatorandlivevehicles

Particularfocusoninteractionwiththevehicle

Myresearchfocus:olderpeople’smobilityneeds,journeypurpose,wellbeingandsocialcohesionbenefits

Whatdoparticipantsthinkarethebenefitsoffullyautonomousvehicles

Convenience Independence Health and wellbeing Socialising

Roadsafety- saferdrivers1. Roadtrafficaccidents– 1,770roaddeaths,

26,610peoplekilledorseriouslyinjuredinUKin2018(DfT2019)

2. 85%ofroadaccidents(globally)resultingininjuryarearesultofhumanerror(WHO2018)

3. Increasedchancesofinjuryordeathforolderpeopleinanaccident

4. Riskthatsomeolderpeopledrivelongerthantheyaresafe

5. Someclaim90%reductioninaccidentsifwewerealltravellinginAV(McKinsey&Co2015)

“Iwouldtakethedecisiontonotdriveanymore,ifIwasnotsafetodrive….orhadamedicalconditionthatstoppedme.AVwouldbeasolution…”

“Ilostsomeofmysightaftersufferingfromastroke.Ithinkdriverlessvehiclescouldbeamazing…I’dloveit,tobeabletodomyownthing.”

“Hardestthingisknowingwhentostopdriving.Youwanttoremainindependentaslongaspossible….fromwhatIcanseeAVwillbeagodsend.”

Roadsafety- saferroads1. Connectivity– toother

vehicles,totheroadnetworkandtheinternet/‘cloud’

2. Nosurprises,vehiclesabletoseearoundcorners

3. Connectivityalreadyhereinvehicles: Information,emergencyhelp,vehiclediagnostics

4. Allvehiclesconnectedwithinnext5-10years

https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/driverless-car/connected-cars/

Roadsafety- saferstreets

1. Shared-mobilitymodelcouldmeansignificantreductioninparkinginstreets

2. All-electricvehicleswouldmeanbetterairquality3. Potentialforfewerfalls4. Supportsmorewalking/physicalmobility

FXFOWLEhttps://www.psfk.com/2017/07/how-autonomous-vehicles-could-change-the-design-of-cities.html

DeliveringAVforolderpeople– Somepolicyandplanningchallenges

• Howwillweachievethemostdesirableoutcomes?• Howdoyouensurethatthereisequityindeliveryofautonomousmobility?

• Willroadsafetybenefitsbeseenwithoutstrongpolicydirection?

Servicesfornewsettlementpatterns

Meetingadditional

traveldemand

Addressingheterogeneityintheolderpopulation

Planningforolderpeople’s

mobility

Operatingmodelstomaximizebenefit

DeliveringAVforolderpeople- Implementationchallenges

• Howdoyouaddresstheseissues?• Whoisresponsible?• Howdoyouensurethatthereisequityindeliveryofautonomousmobility?

Technical- HMI Digitaldivide Costofvehicles/services Rural/urban

Conclusions• Autonomousvehiclesareseentoholdgreatpromise– inparticularforthosethatseereducedmobility,andproblemsinaccessingtransport• Somevisionsofafuturebasedonautonomousvehiclessuggesttherewillbemajorroadsafetybenefits– helpingolderpeopleparticularly• Buttherearestillmanychallengestobeovercometoreachthatfuture