NEW YORK, June 23 — A new study commissioned by MIT’s AgeLab in association with the Hartford Center for Mature Market Excellence shows that 76 per cent of drivers in their 50s will be actively seeking out features such as blind spot monitoring or autonomous braking when they buy their next car.

And this change of heart—last year when a similar study of mature US drivers was conducted, only one third of respondents had the same attitude towards active safety tech—is good news for everyone.

Regardless of how youthful the marketing campaign or how unconventional a car’s design may appear to be, the average new-car buyer is 50 years old across continental Europe and North America and unless a vehicle appeals to this demographic it’s not going to sell, no matter how many social media likes it amasses.

So, if mature drivers want something, it won’t take long before the feature becomes standard equipment, and the sooner active systems become popular, the sooner self-driving cars could actually arrive.

When asked to pick individual systems, 87 per cent of the 2015 US respondents said they’d like a blind spot monitoring system, 85 per cent are interested in a crash mitigation system and 79 per cent in a lane keeping or lane departure warning system.

Attitudes towards driverless cars are also changing, for the better. Over half (56 per cent) would consider buying one if it was proven to be as safe at driving as they are, while 48 per cent said they’d consider one if their own health conditions stopped them form driving.

“Our findings indicate that some drivers age 50+ would be more willing to drive in certain situations if they had particular technologies, suggesting they associate advanced technologies with enhanced safety,” said Jodi Olshevski, gerontologist and executive director of The Hartford Center for Mature Market Excellence. — AFP-Relaxnews