The Coming Boom in Boomer-Friendly Transport

The baby boomers are aging. To ensure their safety and everyone else's, cars, highways, and public transportation need to adapt fast

by Jim Henry

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The oldest baby boomers start turning 65 in less than three years, but car-crazed American society isn't ready, and neither are the boomers themselves.

Cars, highways, street signs, public transportation, and politics are all changing to accommodate an increase of roughly 20 million Americans over age 65, from 2004 to 2020.

Automakers are working to get ready. For instance, Nissan (NSANY) has an "aging suit" for its designers, with stiff joints to simulate restricted movement, a strap-on belly, feet with raised toes to create poor balance, and goggles to simulate poor eyesight. In an e-mail, Etsuhiro Watanabe, an associate chief designer at the Nissan Design Center, was careful to point out that Nissan is not designing a car specifically for old people. "The improved ergonomics will benefit drivers of all age groups, young and old included," he said.

In part to aid the aging driver, General Motors (GM) is adding high-tech features such as blind-spot monitoring and lane-departure warnings, both available on the 2008 Cadillac STS and DTS models. "GM recognizes the importance of this sizable demographic group in the U.S. and globally," said Dave Rand, executive director, global advanced vehicles, in a written presentation. In the longer run, GM is working on "vehicle-to-vehicle" communications, which could for instance warn a driver that cars in a line several cars ahead are applying their brakes. GM is also making more widespread use of simpler features like larger, more legible numbers and letters in its instrument panels, Rand said.

Loss of Night Vision

Experts say it's next to impossible to cite a specific age at which driving ability starts to suffer, but vision is consistently one of the first things to go, especially night vision, said Kent Milton, a semiretired spokesman for the California Highway Patrol.

"There is no generalizing about the problems that aging causes. An exception to that is vision—a change in reaction time and a change to the ability to resist glare," he said. Milton, 80, serves on a state task force to address safety issues for older drivers.

As a result of vision problems, many older drivers avoid driving after dark. High-tech features like infrared night vision could help. Night-vision cameras are available on some high-end luxury cars from Mercedes-Benz (DAI) and BMW (BMWG), but it's an expensive feature and needs to be more user-friendly. The Mercedes-Benz version presents a clear picture, but it's black and white. The BMW system detects heat, but turns pedestrians into ghostly, glowing figures that look like a photographic negative. As demand increases, future product generations need to be cheaper and easier to use.

Demand is also increasing for low-tech features that are already widely available, such as a ride height that's not too high and not too low, making it easy to get in and out; thicker steering wheels that arthritic hands can grab; and clearly marked buttons and knobs on the dashboard. In March, the American Automobile Assn. published such a list, called "Smart Features for Mature Drivers."

Adjustable Pedals

AAA gave high marks to crossover vehicles like the Hyundai Veracruz (BusinessWeek.com, 5/14/07). It was the only vehicle out of 120 models rated by AAA that had all 20 of the organization's desired features, including adjustable pedals, to keep shorter drivers from sitting too close to the steering-wheel-mounted air bag.

Besides vehicles, American roads themselves need to change. That includes big projects like straighter curves and simpler intersections, but also quiet measures like standardizing a more legible typeface for street signs.