Engineering Strategies for Older Drivers Will Stein Federal Highway Administration May 6, 2010
Feb 15, 2016
Engineering Strategies for Older Drivers
Will SteinFederal Highway Administration
May 6, 2010
Measures that improve safety for older drivers almost always improve safety for the
population at large.
Key Functional Abilities affected by Aging
• Physical function: strength, flexibility, range of motion.• Vision: visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, glare
sensitivity.• Cognition: working memory, selective attention,
processing speed.
Engineering Resource
http://www.trb.org/Main/Public/Blurbs/154829.aspx
1. Advance warning signs
2. Advance guide signs and street name signs
Engineering Resource
http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/
3. Increase size and letter height of roadway signs
4. Provide all-red clearance intervals at signalized intersections5. Provide more protected left-turn signal phases at high-volume intersections
Other signal enhancements:—Background shields—Larger signal heads
6. Provide offset turn lanes at intersections
7. Improve lighting at intersections, horizontal curves, and railroad crossings
8. Improve roadway delineation
9. Replace painted channelization with raised channelization
10. Reduce intersection skew angle
11. Improve traffic control at work zones
Engineering Resources
http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/pdfs/PocketGuide0404.pdf
Other FHWA Resourceshttp://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/older_users/• Highway Design Handbook for Older Drivers and
Pedestrians(updated version planned for 2011).
• Guidelines and Recommendations to Accommodate Older Drivers and Pedestrians(updated version planned for 2010).
• Older Driver and Pedestrian Design Workshop
Measures that improve safety for older drivers almost always improve safety for the
population at large.
Questions & Comments