Research on seating postures that rejuvenate elderly people's ability to drive a car

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K14995
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 25020:Safety engineering-related
• Research Institution: Teikyo University
• Principal Investigator: MAKITA Masashi 帝京大学, 理工学部, 准教授 (50782413)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 交通事故 / 高齢ドライバー / 運転動作 / 緊急ブレーキ操作 / 着座姿勢 / 筋骨格人体モデル

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In view of the increasing trend in the number of road accidents and fatalities involving the elderly, the objective of this research was to create countermeasures that utilise the characteristics of the elderly and do not rely on sensors and devices in vehicles, such as automatic braking, which are preventive safety technologies, to prevent road accidents. The results suggest that changing the seating posture of the elderly can improve their braking performance, and that this can be used as a countermeasure against one of the causes of road accidents involving the elderly, namely that they often fail to brake adequately in an emergency. The results also showed that measures could be taken that do not rely on vehicle sensors and devices.

Free Research Field

自動車工学、安全工学、衝突安全、予防安全

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

高齢者の交通事故を減らす新たな基盤技術として、高齢者の特徴を生かした技術開発は、これまでの研究にはない新規性を持つと考える。また、高齢者と若年者の運転動作の特徴を実験と解析を併用して評価する実験装置や指標の開発は、今後の交通安全研究における重要なツールとなり、学術的にも大きな貢献を果たすと考える。
本成果は、超高齢化社会を迎える日本だけでなく、世界中の高齢者の交通安全対策に直接的な貢献をもたらすと考える。また、国際連合の持続可能な開発目標（SDGs）である「目標3：すべての人に健康と福祉を」や「目標12：つくる責任つかう責任」にも貢献できる社会的意義を持つ研究であると考える。