For her eyes only

Purpose and goal

Our purpose was to create a basis for innovations to make it easier for women to drive in the dark. Our hypothesis was that such innovations also would help men and also elderly with night driving problems. During the project, we have seen that night driving problems exist and are gender based. Whether they are only perceived, or also physical, should be explored in a continued study aiming to define problems to be solved in future innovations with benefits for all. Recognising that the problem is gender-related is yet to be discovered by authorities, academia and the automotive industry.

Results and expected effects

Out of four driver types, two were singled out for further studies. The following research areas were defined: How to decrease the concerns of type A (mostly women) and increase the danger awareness of type D (mostly men)? Analyse the differences between perceived and real problems divided by gender in physical tests (for example, do women have longer glare recovery time) Suggest innovation setups and examine their impact do they differ between perceived and physical problems? The goal is to create innovations that enhance night driving abilities without affecting traffic safety

Approach and implementation

Based on the research literature and in-depth interviews we created a survey and spread it in the networks of Ampersand, Autoliv and SAFER. 650 responses about driving in the dark were analysed with regards to similarities and differences between what women and men experienced and how they expressed themselves. The collected data was analysed by a cross-functional team of behavioural scientists and engineers in an innovation workshop. Based on the Ampersand LASS method, we went through the steps Look and Ask and defined research areas for continued work.