Association of Michigan's older adult crashes with roadway features : final report.

PDFTech ReportSPR-16532013-0069Aged driversCrash injury researchRisk analysisTraffic safetyHighway safetyHighway designStructural designTraffic signsTravel behaviorMichiganMichigan. Dept. of TransportationKwigizile, ValerianOh, Jun-SeokVan Houten, RonKwayu, KenethLyimo, SiaBagdade, JeffreyMcArthur, AdamWestern Michigan UniversityMichigan. Dept. of Transportation. Research AdministrationUS Transportation CollectionStudies have shown that older drivers (65yrs-and-older) are prone to an increased risk of crashinvolvement per vehicle mile traveled and are more likely to be severely injured or killed as aresult of a crash. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) 2014 Handbook for Designing Roadways for the Aging Population presents a list of roadway features and their associated design elements that need to be considered when designing with the aging adults in mind. While the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has placed an increased focus on implementing engineering countermeasures making driving safe for older drivers since 2004, there are additional opportunities to improve design guidance in accordance with the FHWA Handbook, as well as other published best practice resources. The main objective of this study was to analyze the association of older adult crashes with roadway features and provide guidance in roadway design to MDOT. With analysis results, a detailed review of the FHWA Handbook and understanding of MDOT\u2019s road design guidance, opportunities for potential enhancements to MDOT\u2019s design guidance were identified and are documented in this report