The increasing number and percentage of older drivers using the Nation's highways in the decades ahead will pose many challenges to transportation engineers, who must ensure system safety while increasing operational efficiency. The 65 and older age group, which numbered 34.7 million in the United States in 2000, will grow to more than 36 million by 2005 and will exceed 50 million by 2020, accounting for roughly one-fifth of the population of driving age in this country. In effect, if design is controlled by even 85th percentile performance requirements, the "design driver" of the early 21st century will be an individual over the age of 65.

In 1998, FHWA published the Older Driver Highway Design Handbook, seeking to provide highway designers and engineers with a practical information source linking the declining functional capabilities of older road users to the need for design, operational, and traffic engineering enhancements keyed to specific roadway features. Early experiences with the recommendations, including extensive feedback from local- and State-level practitioners through workshops conducted for departments of transportation (DOTs) across the country in 1999 and 2000, indicated a need to revise and update this resource. The result is the Highway Design Handbook for Older Drivers and Pedestrians. Recent research has been incorporated, format and content changes have been made to improve its usefulness, guidance on how to implement its recommendations has been added, and the range of applications covered by the Handbook has been expanded.

The increasing number and percentage of older drivers using the Nation's highways in the decades ahead will pose many challenges to transportation engineers, who must ensure system safety while increasing operational efficiency. The 65 and older age group, which numbered 34.7 million in the United States in 2000, will grow to more than 36 million by 2005 and will exceed 50 million by 2020, accounting for roughly one-fifth of the population of driving age in this country. In effect, if design is controlled by even 85th percentile performance requirements, the "design driver" of the early 21st century will be an individual over the age of 65.

In 1998, FHWA published the Older Driver Highway Design Handbook, seeking to provide highway designers and engineers with a practical information source linking the declining functional capabilities of older road users to the need for design, operational, and traffic engineering enhancements keyed to specific roadway features. Early experiences with the recommendations, including extensive feedback from local- and State-level practitioners through workshops conducted for departments of transportation (DOTs) across the country in 1999 and 2000, indicated a need to revise and update this resource. The result is the Highway Design Handbook for Older Drivers and Pedestrians. Recent research has been incorporated, format and content changes have been made to improve its usefulness, guidance on how to implement its recommendations has been added, and the range of applications covered by the Handbook has been expanded.

This document contains the updated recommendations and information on how to apply the Handbook. These are excerpted from the full report (FHWA-RD-01-103), which also includes a detailed discussion of the rationale and supporting evidence for each recommendation. At the end of this document, supplemental technical notes not found in the full Handbook are provided to explain (1) how specific diminished capabilities lead to age-related driving problems; (2) license renewal requirements and distinctions for older drivers in each State in the U.S.; and (3) how and why to conduct visibility measurements to ensure that various pavement marking treatments covered in this Handbook serve the needs of older road users. These materials are included to support practitioners in exercising the engineering judgment often called upon to reach implementation decisions.

External Links:

More Information: www.tfhrc.gov/humanfac/01105/cover.htm

Further Reading:

Guidelines and Recommendations to Accommodate Older Drivers and Pedestrians