Improving Safety and Mobility for Older Road Users in Australia and Japan

Age-related declines in vision, cognition, and physical ability affect how older road users drive and use other transportation modes. The Federal Highway Administration, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and National Cooperative Highway Research Program sponsored a scanning study to assess infrastructure improvements designed to aid older road users in Australia and Japan. The scan team found that using a systems approach provides for integration of safety of older roads users and that enhancing safety for older road users improves safety for all. The team also observed engineering, policy, and educational programs that can improve the safety and mobility of older road users. Team recommendations for U.S. implementation include integrating information from the scan on infrastructure improvements benefiting older road users into relevant U.S. documents, encouraging partnerships between government and nongovernment organizations to address older road users’ needs, and developing a research program on policies and interventions targeted to older road users.