Designing for Older Drivers
The handbook provides assistance to practitioners when accommodating the special needs of older motorists in highway design. Specifically, the handbook provides design guidelines for geometric, operations, signing, and pavement markings in four areas: at-grade intersections, grade separated interchanges, roadway curvature and passing zones, and construction/work zones.
A new version of the Older Driver Handbook (FHWA-RD-01-103) was published in 2001. The full handbook includes recommendations as well as the supporting research rationale.
Here is the "guidelines" document (FHWA-RD-01-051) that focuses on the recommendations.
A one-day workshop has been developed to assist traffic engineers in accommodating older drivers' needs and capabilities. The workshop covers the human factors elements of the older drivers and recommendations and guidelines found in the handbook.
To date 28 workshops have been presented to traffic engineers.
For information contact Dave Smith. For more information visit the Federal Highway Administration site.
