01550182

Component

https://doi.org/10.3141/2516-05

This literature review focuses on human factors issues affecting the safe use of cutaway buses (i.e., a bus body carried by a van or truck chassis) by older adults. Cutaway buses are often used as shuttles for assisted living facilities, in demand–response and paratransit services such as dial-a-ride, and in mainstream public transportation and shuttle systems. Because of the scarcity of data gathered specifically on the subject of U.S. cutaway buses, this review uses international statistics on paratransit, demand–response, special transportation services, and dial-a-ride services as substitutes, because these are the areas of public transportation that most frequently use such vehicles. The first section of the report takes a user-centered approach in reviewing some factors related to older adults’ driving cessation and how public transportation systems using cutaway buses help make this life change easier. Also reviewed are the age-related physiological changes that decrease the ability of older adult passengers to withstand a motor vehicle crash and that limit the mobility of older adults in boarding or alighting the bus and navigating the cabin. The second section reviews bus crash statistics to understand what types of injuries and outcomes are associated with older passengers in different types of motor vehicle crashes. Finally, areas of concern and possible solutions to improve the safety of older adults using cutaway buses are presented.

01596041

15-2273

English

pp 27–34

2015

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board

9780309369404

Print

Figures (2) ; References (90)

Aged; Boarding and alighting; Bus crashes; Chassis; Driving cessation; Mobility; Paratransit services; Passengers; Public transit; Shuttle service

Public Transportation; Safety and Human Factors

PRP, TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Dec 30 2014 12:48PM

• Accuracy of Injury Severity Ratings on Police Crash Reports
• Before-and-After Empirical Bayes Evaluation of Automated Mobile Speed Enforcement on Urban Arterial Roads
• Behind the Wheel: Confidence and Naturalistic Measures of Driving Exposure Among Older Drivers
• Drug Use and Involvement in a Safety-Critical Event: Pilot Study Using Naturalistic Truck Data
• Emergency Braking in Adults Versus Novice Teen Drivers: Response to Simulated Sudden Driving Events
• Evaluation of a Risk Awareness Perception Training Program on Novice Teen Driver Behavior at Left-Turn Intersections
• Potential of Group Incentive Schemes to Encourage Use of Driving Safety Apps
• Preliminary Investigation of Circumstances Contributing to Fatal Crashes Involving Law Enforcement Officers
• Teen Drivers’ Perceptions of Their Peer Passengers: Qualitative Study
• Value of Confirmation Lights and Their Unintended Impact on Driver Compliance and Deterrence to Running a Red Light