Sponsors: Research Councils UK Digital Economy Programme
Partners: University of Dundee
Website: www.side.ac.uk/
Start/end dates: 2009-2014
Contact: phil.blythe@ncl.ac.uk
SiDE addresses four fields: Accessibility, connected home and community, creative industries and inclusive transport. Inclusive transport aims to identify technological solutions offered by the digital economy to support independent mobility and social inclusion for older people. Three stages have been completed: focus groups with older drivers; telephone interviews with policy makers and driving and road safety experts; and field trials. These stages have focused on understanding the benefits of keeping older drivers driving safely for longer, the effects of age-related functional declines on road safety, and the potential of in-vehicle technologies (IVT) to achieve this target. The final stage is to evaluate the impact of selected IVT using a driving simulator.