10 best cars for older drivers

If you’re an older baby boomer, you may want to take a look at the safety features new cars offer for mature drivers.

Adjusting the drivers seat is important because sitting too close to a steering wheel-mounted air bag can cause injury or death, reports the article “Top 10 Cars for Older Drivers” on Bankrate.com.

More than 40 million drivers age 65 and older will be operating vehicles in the United States by 2020, up from 29 million in 2005, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The American Automobile Association or AAA, in cooperation with the University of Florida's National Older Driver Research and Training Center, has developed a list of smart features for mature consumers.

Easy access and to the ability to adjust the seats, mirrors, and the gas and brake pedals are among these features, the article states.

Crossover vehicles, which are higher than most cars but lower than SUVs, score well on the AAA list because it's easier for older consumers to get in and out of the driver's seat.

Here are Bankrate.com’s choices for the top cars with safety features for older drivers:

• BMW 7 Series

• Cadillac SRX

• Chrysler 300

• Ford Taurus

• Honda Odyssey

• Hyundai Veracruz

• Mercedes-Benz E-Class

• Nissan Cube

• Toyota RAV-4

• Volvo XC60

See the article for details on the specific safety features for each vehicle.

Flickr photo by Justin Wright

Copyright 2009, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Comments

[StevenAldrich]

Baby boomers should think about investing in another area to be the safest driver they can be on the road – the speed and accuracy of their brain’s performance. Doing so will help keep the driver focused on the road and allow quicker decisions based on what is seen. Why? Because medical and science literature is clear that brain performance is very predictive of accident risk and can be improved with the right mental exercises (just like physical fitness is for the body).

I am CEO of Posit Science, the leader in clinically-proven brain fitness software. We recently introduced DriveSharp, a program that can improve driving safety that is recommended by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. There is a free online demo of one of the training exercises and a free evaluation at www.drivesharpnow.com and a review at Walt Mossberg’s Wall Street Journal column http://bit.ly/fSGl4

[Rita]

Hi Steven,

Thanks for the information. I'll check out the links.

Rita

[Ford cars for sale]

The consistence flowing of the fluidity that is just incomparable with any of the other competitor models, as the all new 2010 BMW 3-series model is truly amazing. It offers two door convertible and coupes, along with 4 doors sedans and wagons.

[Honda Atlanta]

Brain performance CAN help you in certain cases but if you accidentally get t-boned by a drunk driver or someone who ran a red light; your car better be up to car with crumple zones and all the bells and whistles. No amount of brain alertness will save you in those type of accidents and the car's structure will matter more than ever.

[NRG Steering Wheels]

This is a helpful blog especially for old drivers. It is a good thing that you sited car models that are safe for them, they really need it.