Autonomous Vehicle Transport Programs for Older Adults - Bane or Blessing?

• Date: 01 September 2023

Bifocal September - October 2023Vol. 45, No. 1

17

Introduction



continue to play greater roles in our everyday lives.

Whether it is your streaming service recommending

you a new movie or TV show to watch, or your

smartphone letting you know the best way to avoid



technology in how we interact with others and

the world around us. For older adults, some new

technologies can present opportunities to enhance

their quality of later life, while some aspects may



transport has emerged as one avenue in which

innovative technology is positioned to potentially

improve accessibility for older adults.

Autonomous vehicles can use sensors and other



roads. The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) has

established six levels of vehicular autonomy:

-Level 0 – the human is driving and must be

constantly supervising the automated support

features, which are limited to providing warn-

ings and momentary assistance

-Level 1 – the human is driving and must be

constantly supervising the automated support

features, which can provide steering or brake/

acceleration support to the driver

-Level 2 – the human is driving and must be

constantly supervising the automated support

features, which can provide steering and brake/

acceleration support to the driver

-Level 3 – the human is not driv-

ing when the automated support fea-

tures are engaged but must drive when

required, and the features can drive the

vehicle under limited conditions

-Level 4 – the human is not

driving when the automated support

features are engaged and will not be

required to take over, and the features

can drive the vehicle under limited

conditions

-Level 5 – the human is not

driving when the automated support

features are engaged and will not be

required to take over, and the features

can drive the vehicle under all condi-

tions

-

Currently, we are far from a level 5 automated vehicle

– many still require human input or oversight – but

there are some automated facilities or vehicles that are

being incorporated into public transportation services.

What is the state-of-play with autonomous public

transport?



to older adults exist in the form of ridesharing or

ridehailing smartphone applications (e.g. Uber or Lyft),

which are typically available to all adults with access

to the application. Other shared-use transport services

such as public buses or accessible transport services

Autonomous Vehicle

Transport Programs for

Older Adults – Bane or

Blessing?

By, Dinesh Napal (LLM, BA)

American University

Washington College of Law 2024

Technology and Aging