The Safe Mobility for Life Coalition participated in Older Driver Safety Awareness Week, developed by the American Occupational therapy Association (AOTA), on December 4-8, 2023.
Recently, local seniors lined up outside UF Health Precision Health Research in The Villages, eager to get inside an empty shuttle. None of them were driving. That was what made it exciting. Over multiple days last week, seniors participated in a study spearheaded by the University of Florida’s College of Public Health and Health Professions researchers.
OT researchers and partners have launched a new study to understand older adults’ perceptions and experiences with an autonomous shuttle.
Dr. Sherrilene Classen and collaborators Dr. Vandeweerd, Dr. Stetten, Isabelle Wandenkolk and our Industry partner Mark Reid, have been awarded an Office of Rural Health grant to ascertain, statewide in five Florida counties, the Veteran needs, perceptions, challenges, and opportunities inherent to the use of autonomous shuttles.
Dr. Sherrilene Classen has received a UF Faculty Enhancement Opportunity Award, entitled: ”Leadership and Spirituality—A “new” model for PHHP Academic Leaders”. During this “mini-sabbatical”, Dr. Classen will study and apply the principles of an Integral Model that subscribes to frameworks of leadership and spiritualty.
The deployment of autonomous vehicle (AV) technologies may hold important health and safety benefits for drivers across the driving lifespan. However, such benefits can materialize only if transportation users are willing to embrace the emerging technologies. Earlier studies document a wide variance in acceptance practices, based solely on surveys of drivers. This research used a combined approach of surveys and lived experiences of drivers engaging with AV technologies to examine technology acceptance and adoption of AV technologies. The webinar summarizes findings from the analysis of younger and middle-aged drivers’ perceptions of AVs before and after a) “driving” an interactive high-fidelity RTI driving simulator, in Level 4 autonomous mode, and b) riding in an autonomous shuttle (AS). Moreover, it discusses predictive models of facilitators and barriers for AV acceptance built from data collected from younger and middle-aged drivers (N=106) and older drivers (N=104). The findings reveal important foundational information about driver acceptance, their intention to use AVs, barriers to AV technology, and well-being related to AV technology across the driving lifespan.
The grant has the goal to determine older adults’ perceptions before and after exposure to autonomous ride sharing services. The information is critical for informing education, practice, and policy initiatives pertaining to facilitators and challenges for autonomous ride sharing services.
The Association for Driver Rehabilitation Specialists (ADED) Board has appointed Dr. Sherrilene Classen as Chair of the ADED Research Committee, effective April 1, 2022 – December 31, 2024.
This 5-minute video provides an excellent overview of the project introducing the project to consumers and healthcare professionals involved in home modifications for people with movement impairments.
Funding received from the Paralyzed Veterans of America to elucidate the perceptions of adults living with a spinal cord injury and/or disease (SCI/D) as it relates to autonomous (i.e., self-driving) vehicles.
