Use, Learning and Perceptions of In-Vehicle Technologies, and Vehicle Adaptations among Older Drivers: A LongROAD Study
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Summary
This study investigates the prevalence, learning methods, usage patterns, and safety perceptions of in-vehicle technologies and aftermarket vehicle adaptations among older drivers. Drawing from baseline questionnaire data of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety’s Longitudinal Research on Aging Drivers (LongROAD) study, the research addresses how older adults interact with 15 advanced in-vehicle technologies and 12 aftermarket adaptations designed to enhance driving safety. The motivation stems from the need to understand how aging drivers adopt these tools and whether they perceive them as beneficial for safe driving. The analysis utilized data from 2,990 LongROAD participants enrolled between July 2015 and March 2017. The questionnaire assessed the presence of technologies such as adaptive cruise control, blind spot warnings, and navigation assistance, as well as adaptations like convex mirrors and seat cushions. It also examined demographic factors including sex, age, income, and education, alongside how drivers learned to use these systems and their perceived safety benefits. Results indicated that 57% of participants possessed at least one advanced in-vehicle technology, with males and those with higher incomes and education levels having more systems. Conversely, less than 9% had aftermarket vehicle adaptations. Regarding learning, 83% of respondents taught themselves how to use these technologies, while only 19.8% learned from dealers and 13% never learned to use them. Women were more likely than men to report never learning specific technologies, such as adaptive cruise control and navigation assistance. Usage frequency varied; blind spot warnings and forward collision warnings were used frequently by 79% of respondents, whereas voice control and semi-autonomous parking assist were rarely used. Despite varying usage, nearly 70% of respondents believed these technologies made them safer drivers, with cross-traffic detection receiving the highest safety perception (96.6%) and semi-autonomous parking assist the lowest (25%). The study concludes that while adoption of in-vehicle technologies is high, significant gaps exist in how older drivers learn to use them, particularly among women and those with lower education levels. The authors highlight a critical disconnect regarding aftermarket adaptations: most drivers did not consult professionals, such as occupational therapists, for installation or training, contrary to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommendations. This lack of professional guidance risks inappropriate adaptations and insufficient training. The findings underscore the need for improved educational resources, such as internet-based tutorials, and targeted efforts to help older drivers, especially women, effectively utilize available safety technologies and adaptations.
Key finding
Among 2,990 LongROAD baseline older drivers, 57% had at least one advanced in-vehicle technology but fewer than 9% had aftermarket adaptations; most learned systems on their own rather than from dealers or the internet, yet about 70% believed the technologies made them safer drivers despite low use of some safety-relevant systems such as voice control.
Methodology
survey
Sample size: n=2990
Provenance
The full processing record for this entry. Every stage of this paper's journey through the pipeline is logged — what ran, with which tool and model, how many attempts it took, and when it last completed. Discovered via bulk_ingest_aaa_foundation on 2026-05-23 (5 acquisition events logged).
| Stage | Outcome | Tool | Model | Prompt | Attempts | Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| discover | success | aaa_foundation | — | — | 2 | 2026-05-23 |
| archive | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-05-23 |
| extract | success | cached | — | — | 2 | 2026-06-10 |
| clean | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-01 |
| chunk | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-01 |
| embed | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-02 |
| enrich | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-05-23 |
| promote | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-05-23 |
| summarize | success | llm | qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant | summ-v5 | 2 | 2026-06-10 |
| tag | success | vector_similarity | — | — | 19 | 2026-06-11 |
| verify | success | — | — | — | 2 | 2026-06-10 |
Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.
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- Empirical Findings: observational prevalence
- Methodological Resource: tool software