Also discussed here: Forgive and Forget (Streetsblog, Mar. 5, 2012)
And here: Few U.S. cities are ready for aging Baby Boomer population (USA Today-Your Life, Mar. 25, 2012)
Under review today is a report that looks at the safety issues on local streets that the growing older population either drives on (80% of them do) or uses on foot. These include: the higher risks for seniors making left turns at intersections and the window available for them to avoid heavy traffic, becoming shorter because of the increased congestion from noon on. Combining these issues with the poor design of many city streets that borrow from highway design and fail to achieve either mobility or efficiency- the “STROAD”. The future will see twice as many seniors so that all these problems will amplify in the absence of corrections.
Key Quotes:
“This aging population will both create and face significant transportation challenges, including a transportation system that lacks many features that would accommodate the level of mobility and safety older Americans desire and expect.. Projections show that one in every five drivers will be 65 or older by 2025”
“Older Americans tend to “age in place”, remaining in the homes where they raised their children and held jobs. Seventy-nine percent of elderly Americans live in suburban (56 percent) or rural (23 percent) communities”
“Older drivers make a greater proportion of shopping trips, more family and personal errands, and more trips for social and recreational activities than younger adults…Travel by older drivers now accounts for eight percent of all miles traveled in the U.S..90 percent of travel takes place in a private vehicle.. public transit accounts for just 1.3 percent of trips by older Americans”
“Older drivers are disproportionately affected by mounting levels of congestion..their window of opportunity for travel narrows considerably as morning and evening rush hours become longer and midday congestion continues to grow”
“37 percent of all fatal crashes where at least one driver was aged 65 or older occurred at an intersection or were related to an intersection.. each advancing year of age after 65 increases by eight percent the odds of getting into a crash that involves turning left”
“A STROAD is a street/road hybrid..functions neither as a road that moves people quickly between two places nor as a street that provides a platform for capturing value… is created when we misapply to local transportation corridors the decades of wisdom we have gained from experimentation on highway design and construction techniques”
"There are a lot of communities that recognize they need to do something but haven't done it yet..Some of the changes cities can make include offering training to help older people drive more safely, installing road signs that are easier to read or creating ride-share programs”
Related articles
- Sustainable Transportation and Mobility for Seniors (pollutionfreecities.blogspot.com)
- Car Insurance Co. Promotes Senior Driver Safety Conversations (news.onlineautoinsurance.com)
- Lawmakers Aim to Make Roads Safer by Improving Signs (news.onlineautoinsurance.com)
- Should roads be designed with older drivers in mind? (timesunion.com)
- Avoiding the silver tsunami wipe out: Helping aging parents drive safe (insurance.com)
- Older Drivers Safer, File Fewer Auto Insurance Claims (news.onlineautoinsurance.com)
- AASHTO's Vision of Safe Streets for Seniors: Bigger Type on Highway Signs (dc.streetsblog.org)
- Wider, Straighter, and Faster Roads Aren't the Solution for Older Drivers (dc.streetsblog.org)
- Traffic fatalities among older drivers remain disproportionately high; as baby boomers begin to turn 65, U.S. Transportation System Insufficient to Meet Their Growing Mobility and Safety Needs (fulltextreports.com)
- Report: Baby Boomers Will be Integral to mHealth (mitchellpr.com)
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