Car For The Elderly

It's been widely reported in the gaming news that Dr Kawashima turned down $11 million in royalties from his part in the DS Brain Training games, deciding instead to put it into funding more research. Apparently his family isn't too pleased with his decision, but as Dr Kawashima says "if you want money, go out and earn it".

The bit that caught my eye however was that he's now working with Toyota on developing a car more suitable for elderly drivers. So what exactly is the problem with current cars that we struggle with once we get past a certain age? Well for one, temperature regulation. Old people need to be kept alert while driving and having the heat up too high, although tempting, can result in drowsiness. I'm guessing the way this will work is to give the buggers a quick blast of ice cold air every few minutes, that should do the trick nicely.

Another problem we will face as we get old is 'hitting the gas pedal for no reason'. The car will learn your driving patterns and prevent any dangerous activity. Whether this will also apply to braking isn't clear but I'm not sure I'd like the car to decide whether I actually meant to brake or not. Apparently this would also cut in when driving past bingo halls and carpet bowls sites.

These are just two of the features we could be seeing in the next five years... but only if you're a southerner. As part of an on going campaign of discrimination against northerners shockingly uncovered by Watch Dog this week, (see video below) the car won't be available in Scotland or northern regions of England. It's also rumoured to come in any colour except for blue or 'yeller' due to a misunderstanding with the manufacturers.



Visit the GAMEOV3R Forum or just leave us a comment right here