Can Technology Keep Aging Drivers Safe?

"In a study released last week, British researchers proposed a number of futuristic improvements to automobiles that could extend older motorists' time behind the wheel.

To guard against the exhaustion factor, the researchers suggested adding fatigue-detection systems that would warn drivers when they were showing signs of sleepiness. To compensate for seniors' longer reaction time [the report] proposed adding sensors that would detect animals, joggers or children on the road ahead. Those electronic data would then be projected on the windshield rather than the dashboard, so drivers' eyes would never have to leave the road.

Towns and cities could [also] undergo a wholesale senior-proofing as well in coming years. The U.S. Federal Highway Administration has recommended all street signs be printed in Clearview font, a typeface that studies show is more legible to elderly drivers.

It has also suggested towns eliminate traffic features that could confuse seniors: roads intersecting at less than 75 degrees, intersections without left-turn lights and high-speed roads without merge lanes."