Elderly drivers’ needs: Methodological approach and its application to the educational context

The aim of this research is to explore the travel needs of Chinese older drivers in order to assist designers to better understand current and future users’ needs. A methodological triangulation consisting of interviews, logbook and co-discovery is used to collect multiple forms of data and explore the research question. The pilot study developed an initial concept model to identify older drivers’ travel needs. Within this approach a vehicle is a “mediator” which gives a tangible expression about user’s experiences. It is envisaged that the proposed model can play an important role in design education in order to help design students to better understand the relations between culture and design. The application of the model in an educational context will focus on vehicle design as a representative example