The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Traffic Safety Plan for Older Persons

NHTSA · 1993 · ROSA P / United States. Department of Transportation. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

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Summary

This document outlines the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) 1993 Traffic Safety Plan for Older Persons, a strategic response to the escalating safety risks associated with the rapidly aging U.S. population. The plan was motivated by data showing that while the general population grew by 9.2% between 1980 and 1990, the population over age 65 increased by 20.9%, with projections indicating even sharper growth in subsequent decades. Research indicated that older drivers are overrepresented in intersection crashes and underrepresented in alcohol- or speed-related incidents. Crucially, safety issues were concentrated among drivers unaware of their functional limitations or unable to compensate for them, such as those with undetected peripheral vision problems or dementia. Furthermore, individuals over age 80 faced significantly higher risks of injury or fatality in crashes compared to younger counterparts. To address these challenges, NHTSA structured the plan around three categories of activities: Problem Identification, Program Development, and Program Evaluation, involving collaboration with agencies like the Federal Highway Administration, the National Institute on Aging, and the Centers for Disease Control. The Problem Identification phase included eight projects aimed at establishing statistical links between crash risk and specific medical conditions, analyzing vehicle crashworthiness for older occupants, and identifying barriers to physician and family reporting of diminished driver capacity. It also sought to document the mobility consequences of license relinquishment and identify vehicle design practices that enhance crash avoidance for older drivers. The Program Development phase comprised eight projects focused on creating actionable solutions. These included developing performance assessment techniques to better detect functional limitations, creating empirical guidelines for medical practitioners to replace subjective professional judgment, and designing training programs to help older drivers compensate for limitations. Additional efforts targeted the development of materials to assist older drivers in self-assessing their driving capabilities, improving intersection negotiating practices, and identifying safe pedestrian zones through traffic engineering countermeasures. The plan also emphasized integrating older driver considerations into all crash avoidance research, including the assessment of Intelligent Vehicle Highway System technologies. Finally, the Program Evaluation phase outlined four projects to assess the efficacy of these interventions. These included evaluating state driver license re-examination requirements, assessing the NHTSA/AAMVA Model Driver Screening and Evaluation Program, and reviewing the outcomes of medical and community-based appraisals of driving limitations. The plan also aimed to evaluate programs designed to maintain mobility for former drivers. By systematically identifying risks, developing targeted interventions, and evaluating their effectiveness, the plan sought to improve safety for older drivers, occupants, and pedestrians while addressing the complex interplay between functional decline, vehicle design, and regulatory frameworks.

Key finding

The document is a strategic administrative plan outlining future research and program initiatives rather than a report of completed empirical findings.

Methodology

other

Provenance

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Topics

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• older driver retraining
• older drivers
• driver education effectiveness
• regulatory evaluation
• novice drivers
• mci dementia driving

Information type

What kind of knowledge this paper contributes, grouped by family — independent of topic (what it is about) and method (how it was studied).

• Applied Guidance: countermeasure evaluation
• Empirical Findings: crash risk outcomes
• Methodological Resource: dataset resource