Automated Vehicle Design for People with Disabilities

Fully Automated Vehicles (FAV; SAE Levels 4/5; SAE, 2016) have the potential to provide greater mobility and independence to persons with disabilities who cannot obtain a driver’s license. In order for this potential to be realized, accessibility for persons with various disabilities should be considered early in the design process. Although accessibility has not traditionally been a design focus for vehicle manufacturers, there are lessons to be learned from other industries that can be leveraged in the design of FAVs. This chapter begins by introducing readers to the social model of disabilities, which is a philosophy that views disabilities as an individual difference similar to height and gender. The second part of the chapter provides an overview of universal design and its seven principles for developing products and systems that are usable by all. The third and final section of the chapter discusses what aspects of a highly automated vehicle are new and unique and how to make these accessible to persons with disabilities.