Barriers to the design of vehicles for mature adults

There are three barriers that must be overcome in designing vehicles to meet the needs of mature adults. These barriers are (a) the ages of the designers of the product, (b) young designers (and most of society's) perceptions of the capabilities of older adults, and (c) the lack of applied research on the interaction of older adults with their vehicles. This article addresses each of the three barriers and the challenges it brings to the vehicle design process. Emphasis is placed on the third barrier--the serious lack of applied research in the topic to support product designers in their work--because it is the most difficult to surmount.