FOREWORD

The proportion of the driving population over 65 is growing significantly. Older motorists can be expected to have problems driving given the known changes in their perceptual, cognitive, and psychomotor performances, presenting many challenges to transportation engineers, who must ensure system safety while increasing operational efficiency.

This Older Driver Highway Design Handbook provides practitioners with a practical information source that links older road user characteristics to highway design, operational and traffic engineering recommendations by addressing specific roadway features. This handbook supplements existing standards and guidelines in the areas of highway geometry, operations, and traffic control devices.

The information in this handbook should be of interest to highway designers, traffic engineers, and highway safety specialists involved in the design and operation of highway facilities. In addition, this handbook will be of interest to researchers concerned with issues of older road user safety and mobility.

Copies of this report can be obtained through the FHWA Research and Technology Report Center, 9701 Philadelphia Court, Unit Q, Lanham, Maryland 20706, telephone: (301) 577-0818, fax: (301) 577-1421, or the National Technical Information Service, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, Virginia 22161, telephone: (703) 487-4650,
fax: (703) 321-8547.

A. George Ostensen
Director Office of Safety
and Traffic Operations Research
and Development

NOTICE

This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The United States Government assumes no liability for its contents or use thereof. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation.

The United States Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers' names appear herein only because they are considered essential to the object of this document.