Study Highlights Challenges Facing Older Motorists
Thursday, February 23, 2012
By: Matthew Peddie

A new study that examines safety among older drivers highlights Florida's approach to making roads safer for motorists over 65.

According to The Road Information Program  known as TRIP which commssioned the report, Florida is second only to California in the number of licensed drivers over the age of 65, but it tops the list of traffic fatalities involving drivers in that age group.

The Florida Department of Transportation has made efforts to improve safety, including widening roadway striping, increasing the size of stop signs, and working with other agencies to address the mobility needs of older people.

Last year, according to the report, there were 503 traffic fatalities in Florida involving a driver over 65. TRIP's policy and research director, Frank Moretti, says if the Florida DOT had not taken steps to improve safety, that number could be even higher.

"I think it likely would be. Investments in safety have proven time and time again to be very cost effective. If you look at lighting and lane markings and signage, they're often times some of the least expensive improvements, but they've proved to have significant impacts."

Florida AARP spokesman Dave Bruns says one problem facing older residents in Florida is that public transit is not always convenient.

“Certainly more can be done, and DOT is doing a great job with signage. One of the issues that we continually wrestle with is, what other mobility options are there. And one of the challenges that older drivers find in a lot of areas of Florida is there are very few other good options.”

Bruns says he recently visited one community where the bus stops are two miles apart.

"Two miles is not far for me to walk. Two miles is a long way for an 80 year old person suffering from osteoperosis or cardiovascular problems to walk, in August, in Florida."

Bruns says Florida will have to think carefully about how to bolster mobility for the elderly as the population ages.

In its report TRIP also recommends greater access to public transit for seniors.