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Report of the Iowa Safe Mobility Decisions for Older Drivers Forum
To the Reader
About This Report
This report summarizes two days of public discussion addressing highway safety and the many
decisions that need to be made for Iowa’s aging and at-risk population.
The Iowa Safety Management System (SMS) members and friends invited Iowa seniors,
highway safety practitioners, and diverse senior service providers—along with their families,
communities and policy makers who seek to keep them safely mobile—to explore the challenges
and choices faced by Iowa’s older drivers.
This report is derived from workshop discussions and the presenters’ and participants’ thoughts
and ideas. The forum's goals are to develop roadway systems, resources, and services that will
best:
? Reduce fatalities and injuries on Iowa roads, and
? Sustain safe and independent mobility for aging Iowans.
Iowans Nearly 200 participants
Address concerned about safe
transportation for Iowans
Senior addressed ways to reduce
Driver the fatality and injury risks
Safety for older citizens driving on
Iowa’s roads at the Safe
Mobility Decisions for
Older Drivers Forum.
The forum’s specific
objectives were met through discussion among seniors and numerous
safety, medical, and senior services professionals who addressed:
? Raising public awareness about driving and aging and;
? Developing potential strategies for planning, policies, and systems
that Iowa can implement to sustain safe mobility for older Iowans.
Disclaimer The content of this report represent s the policies, opinions, and/or research
of the forum participants. It does not represent the views of the SMS and
member agencies except where specifically noted.
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Report of the Iowa Safe Mobility Decisions for Older Drivers Forum
To the Reader
The Need The participants focused on
for the realities of Iowa’s aging
population and the facts of
Solutions driving and aging on Iowa
roadways. They believe that
safe driving in Iowa is both
a personal and a community
responsibility. Solutio ns
will require multi-
disciplinary efforts to
provide the safest roadways,
appropriate education and licensing, and the best transportation alternatives
possible to sustain independence and quality of life for aging Iowans.
What the Data indicates:
Data Tells ? There have been significant reductions in fatalities in the last 20
Us years to all age groups except the over 65 group.
? The number of older drivers involved in fatal crashes increased 33
percent nationwide in 1998 and 1999; overall fatalities decreased
nine percent.
? Iowa ranks near the top in all older driver percentage age groups,
second only to Florida in drivers over age 85. A 30-percent increase
in the number of Iowans over the age of 65 is expected by the year
2020.
The population of our state is aging, and with advances in medical care, more
seniors are remaining active and continuing to drive well into their later years.
Coming up with strategies and accommodations to provide for older drivers is
one of the largest safety issues facing us in transportation today.
– Tom Welch, P.E., State Safety Engineer
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Report of the Iowa Safe Mobility Decisions for Older Drivers Forum
To the Reader
The Goal of the Iowa SMS
The Iowa SMS seeks to identify unmet safety needs and opportunities for shared efforts that
achieve more than existing programs and systems alone.
SMS members include state- and local- level
representatives of the “5 Es” of highway safety—
Engineering, Enforcement, Education, Emergency
Services, and Everyone else.
Forum Addressing Iowa’s older driver safety concerns with forums like this is one
Reflects of the strategies identified in the Iowa “SMS Toolbox of Highway Safety
Strategies.” The SMS toolbox assists Iowa’s highway safety professionals,
SMS policy makers, and citizens in implementing ways to reduce death, injury,
Strategy and economic loss on Iowa roadways. Refer to the end of this “To the
Reader” section for the Iowa Commitment to Highway Safety declaration
signed in 2002 by Governor Vilsack and others.
SMS Two of the 28 chapters in the SMS Toolbox of Highway Safety Strategies
Toolbox & address older driver facts, concerns and potential strategies. These are
briefly described in the table below:
Older
Drivers
The Older Chapter 8, “Sustaining Safe Mobility in Older Drivers,”
Driver addresses licensing, driver capacity, education, and driver
decision- making.
Engineering Chapter 20, “Accommodating Older Drivers,” addresses the
Strategies driving environment. This includes roadway engineering
enhancements that help compensate for driving capacity
changes that occur with aging.
Iowa is a national leader in highway safety. Only a few states have the kind of
multi-agency cooperative effort that is present in Iowa’s SMS. It is this kind of
multi-disciplinary approach that has led to this forum. Use this opportunity to
help set Iowa’s agenda for safe mobility for older Iowans. Your comments will
help set the priorities for Iowa’s future.
– Bobby Blackmon, Iowa Division, FHWA
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Report of the Iowa Safe Mobility Decisions for Older Drivers Forum
To the Reader
Why Address Older Drivers in this Forum?
THOMAS M. WELCH, P.E. – Chair, Iowa Safety Management System
Coordinating Committee, and State Safety Engineer, Iowa
Department of Transportation
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently completed
work on a national agenda for safe mobility for a maturing society. The agenda, as
printed in the forum agenda, states:
The nation has not yet taken adequate steps to address the significant
transportation needs of its changing population. Continued neglect of these
needs could sharply increase the number of older people killed in crashes,
and leave many more stranded in their suburban or rural homes. Our older
generation has every right to expect safe mobility… Without rapid
improvement in highways, vehicles, and user programs, the nation will
face a major crisis surrounding the safe transportation of its older
population. (NHTSA, 2002)
I emphasize this phrase: “Our older generation has every right to expect safe mobility.” Iowa’s
highway safety practitioners agree that the risks for injuries and fatalities related to aging drivers
is a major area of concern. As with other health issues, our youngest and oldest are the highest
risk populations for vehicle crash injuries and fatalities. The risk common to these drivers is
their age-related driving capacities. Young drivers have strong physical capacity and quick
mental capacity but lack experience to respond correctly. Older drivers have the experience to
respond correctly, but their physical and mental capacities gradually weaken and their injuries
are more severe. In recent years we have addressed young driver inexperience by passing the
graduated driving license (GDL) law requiring more supervised practice driving before teens can
receive full driving privileges. The law is working–young driver at-fault crashes and driving
violations have been markedly reduced.
It is time to address our older drivers who are also high risk for injuries and fatalities resulting
from vehicle crashes. This is a hard subject. The choices are difficult but safer decisions are
needed. Without making some changes in Iowa and promoting safe decisions, more of our
growing population of older drivers will not make safe decisions and will face losing their driver
license involuntarily or more tragically…by losing their life. This Iowa forum is being held to
provide an opportunity for older Iowans to share their concerns and suggestions regarding safe
mobility with Iowa policy makers. Like the national agenda, the Iowa “action plan” for safe
mobility of our maturing citizens must reflect the input of a broad consortium of governmental
agencies, organizations, and interests in the private sector. It is essential that Iowa seniors be
involved in developing our state’s plan. I sincerely thank each of you for attending this forum
and encourage you to actively participate in the breakout sessions.
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Report of the Iowa Safe Mobility Decisions for Older Drivers Forum
To the Reader
MARK HAVERLAND – Director, Iowa Department of Elder Affairs
The purpose of this conference is to address the vulnerability of older drivers to vehicle crashes.
As we grow older we become more dependent on others, and with dependency comes
vulnerability. In this country, and especially in Iowa, mobility and the car are the keys to
engagement in life. Quality of life depends on the ability to be mobile and stay involved in life.
We know how hard it is to sustain your mobility–especially in rural communities and especially
on the farm. I am here today with the hope that your government and policy makers will be able
to provide the mobility assistance, security, and assurance we need as we grow old and continue
to drive. I encourage you to share your ideas with the policy makers and state agencies here
today so they can establish policies that will address the safe mobility needs of older Iowans.
I have here a weekly fatality report listing five Iowa vehicle crash fatalities of
persons age 65 or older. These are not statistics to us in safety; these are the
names of real people, individuals who had full lives and are missed by the
families and communities they belonged to and have left behind.
– Thomas M. Welch, P.E.
RUDY UMBS, P.E. – Chief Safety Engineer, Federal Highway
Administration (FHWA)
Iowa is a national leader in highway safety. This forum is one example of Iowa’s dedicated and
proactive safety professionals. Collaboration and agreement on safety issues is so important to
making progress in saving lives. Iowa is the premiere state in multidisciplinary highway safety
with your Safety Management System, known as “SMS”. The Iowa SMS Toolbox Of Highway
Safety Strategies is a wealth of knowledge and “older drivers” is addressed twice; once with a
chapter about sustaining safe driving with aging, and a second chapter about engineering
roadways that are safer for older drivers.
Iowa’s aging population of drivers is an important and growing safety concern for Iowa’s
highway safety professionals. When you don’t work together, people die. Beyond the reported
deaths, there are countless vehicle crash injuries that may be unreported. An arm that aches or a
knee that doesn’t bend, these are daily reminders of crashes that affect Iowans’ quality of life for
years.
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Report of the Iowa Safe Mobility Decisions for Older Drivers Forum
To the Reader
Potential Strategies
The forum presenters and participants developed several strategies that could be used to sustain
safe mobility for older Iowans. Some may appear simple while others appear complex, but all
involve making important decisions for the safety of seniors and others on Iowa roads. The
strategies presented here are not intended to represent proposals or views from specific agencies
or individuals.
Strategic The following potential strategies were identified at the forum. Refer to
Planning section 4, “Iowa Priorities”, for a full discussion of these basic strategies.
Roadways Provide brighter signs and pavement markings, improved
and signals and lighting, paved shoulders, rumble strips, and
Engineering intersection enhancements. Ensure roadways are planned
or improved with the aging population in mind.
Drivers Provide or require ongoing education or enrichment
programs. Determine ways to self-assess driving capacity
changes. Ensure that procedures for limiting the driving of
others are better understood and utilized.
Senior Ensure access to safe mobility information, options,
Services resources, alternative transportation, and other services.
Traffic Laws Continue aggressive driving laws. Enforce intersection and
and step up enforcement of speed and functions that protect
Enforcement older drivers and pedestrians. Improve enforcement of
headlamp standards.
Policies and Plan comprehensively. Provide resources, incentives, and
legislation political power to implement changes.
Vehicle Improve headlamps, mirrors, and interior configuration
Design designs.
Licensing Continue and enhance driver license agency communication
and outreach education. Consider licensing policy or law
changes to encourage, provide, or create incentives for
driver enhancement programs, assessment education, and
driver assessments.
Awareness Change the culture; educate the driver. This includes both
and Driver public awareness as well as driver education programs that
Education keep concerns regarding older driver concerns in mind.
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