Am I Too Old to Drive? Opinions of Older Adults on Self-Driving Vehicles
Earl W. Huff, Natalie DellaMaria, Brianna Posadas, Julian Brinkley · 2019 · Proceedings of the 21st International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2019) · doi:10.1145/3308561.3353801
Summary
This paper explores the opinions, preferences, and concerns of 39 older African American adults (aged 57-91, mean 74) regarding fully autonomous (Level 5) self-driving vehicles through seven focus group sessions conducted over five days in South Carolina. The study addresses a significant gap: while autonomous vehicles hold particular promise for older adults who face driving cessation due to age-related cognitive, visual, or physical decline, and for African Americans who experience disproportionately high rates of driving cessation, the perspectives of older African Americans on this technology have been virtually unexplored. Each one-hour session combined participatory design (using an ideation kit where participants selected images representing who would use self-driving vehicles, what they would look like, and where users would live) with semi-structured focus group discussions covering understanding of the technology, hopes and concerns, accessibility, interaction preferences, and legal considerations. Two researchers independently coded all transcripts using 33 a priori codes supplemented by inductively identified codes, with a third researcher resolving disagreements. Seven major themes emerged: self-driving vehicle concerns (325 mentions), purchase considerations (214), risk and trust (164), legal and ethical concerns (150), vehicle interactions (98), vehicle design (56), and potential benefits (36).
Key findings
Participants demonstrated a reasonable conceptual understanding of self-driving vehicles and expressed confidence in their ability to operate one and take manual control in emergencies. However, trust was the dominant barrier: participants were deeply uncertain about relying on electronic systems they did not understand, particularly regarding reliability ("hoping you don’t get a lemon"), safety in complex road situations (handling aggressive drivers, speed limit changes, traffic congestion), and interaction with pedestrians — the latter influenced by the 2018 Uber fatality in Tempe, Arizona. Cost was the biggest purchase concern, with estimates ranging from ,000 to ,000, and most participants believed the vehicles would be unaffordable for average African American families. When presented with the trolley problem scenario (tree versus pedestrian), many participants refused to answer, and those who did unanimously chose to hit the tree despite potential harm to themselves. Voice was the strongly preferred interaction modality for entering destinations and communicating with the vehicle. Seating preferences were split between the driver’s seat (to maintain ability to take control) and the back seat (treating it like a taxi). On accessibility, people who are blind were the most discussed disability group, with participants raising how blind users would interact with and direct the vehicle. Opinions were divided on whether older adults’ needs were being considered in vehicle design, and most participants did not believe minority communities were being considered, citing perceived cost barriers. Preliminary ideation kit analysis revealed participants most commonly selected Asian faces as likely self-driving vehicle users, reflecting associations between Asian Americans and technology/wealth that highlight internalised perceptions of who autonomous technology is "for."
Relevance
This study makes a unique contribution at the intersection of aging, race, disability, and autonomous transportation technology. The finding that older African Americans see significant mobility benefits in self-driving vehicles but feel economically excluded from them highlights how emerging accessible technologies can reproduce existing inequities if affordability is not addressed. For accessibility practitioners and autonomous vehicle designers, several findings are directly actionable: voice should be the primary interaction modality, telematics systems should detect medical emergencies, roadside assistance must be standard, training programmes are expected and desired, and the vehicle must be designed for passengers who may have visual, motor, or cognitive impairments. The trust deficit — rooted in unfamiliarity rather than opposition — suggests that hands-on experience and education could significantly improve acceptance. The intersectional lens of this study challenges accessibility research to consider how race and socioeconomic status compound age-related mobility limitations, and how technology ostensibly designed for "everyone" may systematically exclude those who stand to benefit most.
Tags: autonomous vehicles · older adults · aging · accessible transportation · mobility · African American · intersectionality · participatory design · driving cessation · independence