Annual Meeting and Exhibit, August 7, 2013

Annual Meeting and Exhibit, August 7, 2013 Richard Retting, MS, FITE Director of Safety & Research Sam Schwartz Engineering Photograph by Jose Luis...
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Annual Meeting and Exhibit, August 7, 2013

Richard Retting, MS, FITE Director of Safety & Research Sam Schwartz Engineering

Photograph by Jose Luis Pelaez/Blend Images/Getty1 11Images

100-year-old driver crashes into crowd of students

92-year-old driver says spilled coffee caused collision with pole

 Vision  Hearing  Flexibility

 Neck

Movement  Memory loss  Perception (reaction time)  Mental acuity (confused & disoriented)  Frailty (increased risk of death from MVC) Image Source: http://www.thetennesseeautoaccidentattorney.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Confused-Signpost150x150.jpg

 2010

NHTSA Report

• 5,484 people age 65+ killed (17% of all fatalities) • 189,000 injured (8% of all injured)  Fatality

rates increase at age 75 and markedly after age 80 due to trauma  Chest injuries  Medical complications (i.e., pneumonia, decreased organ and immune function)

 Compared

with younger drivers, older drivers are more likely to be involved in certain types of collisions: • Angle crashes • Overtaking or merging crashes • And especially intersection crashes

Multiple-vehicle crashes at intersections, 2011

 Goal:

identify older drivers at high risk of MVC without falsely identifying drivers not at high risk  Accelerated Renewal Cycles • Shorter periods between renewals • Renew in-person rather than

electronically/by mail  Vision and road evaluations • Studies show that vision testing among

seniors is associated with lower fatal crash rates Image Source: http://www.iihs.org/laws/olderdrivers.aspx

 State

Licensing Agencies may require:

• Physical or mental examinations • Retake the standard licensing tests:  Vision  Written  Road driving  States

Medical Review Boards

• Health care professionals advise on licensing

standards and cases in which a person's ability to drive safely is in doubt

 Fitness

to Drive based on appearance, demeanor; history of crashes/violations; reports by physicians/police/others  Results may allow person to: • Retain license • Refuse to renew the license • Suspend/revoke license • Restrict license (i.e., prohibit nighttime driving, require

vehicle to have additional mirrors, or limit driving to specified places/limited radius)

 So

far, there are NO tests that accomplish goals of driver screening with sufficient accuracy

Image Source: http://www.iihs.org/laws/olderdrivers.aspx https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTHnLNLzFrMFeOQUyXZ2_5P8auBI0_pwGHh1dwrqQ3dcz33dw_T2w

 Little

evidence of safety benefits from education courses for older drivers  Drivers who choose to take these courses not representative of all drivers in their age group. Typically, they have lower crash rates before taking course.  Evaluations of improvement/educational programs have found no reductions in crash risk among older driver participants relative to comparison groups

 Advanced

frontal airbags reduce likelihood of injuries from deployments  Improved head restraint systems protect against whiplash and other neck injuries  Bigger and brighter displays/controls  Electronic stability control  Forward collision avoidance systems such as autonomous braking  Adaptive headlights, help drivers see better on dark, curved roads by pivoting beam in direction of travel

 Improve

visibility of signs and markings • Lettering • Size • Color

 Intersection

 Advance

lane control signs

traffic control signs

 Overhead-mounted  Redundant

street name signs

and advance street name signs

 Left-turn

lanes and left-turn traffic signals  Raised pavement markings for curbs in medians and islands  Reconfigure existing or new intersections as roundabouts • Reduces vehicle speeds • Eliminates complicated aspects of

traditional intersections

 Friend

or relative  Public transportation • Train • Bus  Taxi

cab (cab sharing, discounted fares for seniors)  Ride a Senior Transit Shuttle  Volunteer driver programs • Community center • Church/synagogue/mosque  Ride

a Medi-car (provided by local Commission on Aging)

Image Source: http://www.dupagemedicar.com/ http://seniortransportation.easterseals.com/site/PageServer?pagename=NCST2_older

Older drivers: large and growing population  Deteriorating physical/cognitive abilities contribute to high rates of fatal and injury crashes  Older drivers more likely to be involved in certain types of collisions  Limited evidence available on benefits of: 

• Improved screening policies • license renewal approaches • Increased education 

Evidence supports the benefit of changes to: • driving environment • transportation alternatives

Image Source: http://www.vision-health.com/how-vision-problems-can-affect-elderly-driversImage

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