00489613

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This paper provides a discussion of current efforts to train older drivers and pedestrians, identifies ways of improving training and the best prospects for change, and outlines needs for further research. The following conclusions are drawn: 1) to reduce the vulnerability of older drivers and pedestrians to traffic accidents and at the same time preserve their independent mobility, there is a need for programs of information and education; 2) the effect of diminished capabilities leading to the unsafe performance of some older drivers and pedestrians can be significantly reduced by modifying or compensating for such performance; 3) a number of driver and pedestrian training programs have been developed to address age-related problems and are available to almost everyone at little cost; and 4) current driver and pedestrian information and education programs reach but a small fraction of the people who could benefit from them (e.g., where insurance discounts are available to the drivers who complete training, only 2% of the population participates). The following recommendations are made: 1) effectiveness of older-driver training should be assessed by comparing accident records of trained versus untrained with statistical control over factors that might affect the relative accident exposure; 2) should training be found an effective accident countermeasure, efforts should be made to induce greater numbers of older drivers to participate; 3) states should develop methods to facilitate and encourage reporting to the licensing authority those drivers whose observed performance indicates that they are potentially hazardous to themselves or others; 4) participation of private business, public assistance agencies, and volunteer groups should be enlisted in the efforts to disseminate to older drivers and pedestrians (a) information capable of improving their safety and mobility and (b) information concerning the availability of training and informational programs; and 5) a survey to identify the means currently used by states to identify unsafe drivers and a program of research should be undertaken to devise rapid, automated, and reliable screening methods capable of cost-effectively identifying potentially deficient drivers for more intensive examination.

This paper appears in Transportation Research Board Special Report No. 218, Transportation in an Aging Society: Improving Mobility and Safety for Older Persons, Volume 2 - Technical Papers.

pp 101-133

1988

Transportation Research Board Special Report

0-309-04664-5

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References (96)

Aged; Aged drivers; Countermeasures; Crash records; Driver training; Education; Future; High risk drivers; Improvements; Information dissemination; Measures of effectiveness; Methodology; Pedestrian safety; Recommendations; Reports; Research; Screenings; Training

Effectiveness; Future research; Reporting

Data and Information Technology; Education and Training; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Research; Safety and Human Factors; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Nov 30 1989 12:00AM

• CRASH PROTECTION FOR OLDER PERSONS
• HEADLAMP PERFORMANCE FACTORS AFFECTING THE VISIBILITY OF OLDER DRIVERS IN NIGHT DRIVING
• IMPROVING SAFETY FOR OLDER MOTORISTS BY MEANS OF INFORMATION AND MARKET FORCES
• POTENTIAL IMPROVEMENTS IN ROADWAY DELINEATION FOR OLDER DRIVERS
• RENEWAL LICENSING OF OLDER DRIVERS
• SIGN LEGIBILITY AND CONSPICUITY
• SIGNIFICANCE OF MOBILITY FOR THE WELL-BEING OF THE ELDERLY
• THE MOBILITY NEEDS OF THE ELDERLY
• THE SAFETY OF OLDER PERSONS AT INTERSECTIONS
• VISION ASSESSMENT TECHNOLOGY AND SCREENING OLDER DRIVERS: PAST PRACTICES AND EMERGING TECHNIQUES
• VISION SCREENING FOR DRIVER LICENSURE