Highway safety issues of older drivers in Kansas : summary.

Details

• Creators:
  Dissanayake, Sunanda ; Perera, Loshaka
• Corporate Creators:
  Kansas State University. Civil Engineering Dept.
• Corporate Contributors:
  Kansas. Dept. of Transportation. Bureau of Materials & Research
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Highway safety
  • Crashes
  • Older automobile drivers--Kansas
  • Traffic safety--Kansas
  • Traffic accidents--Kansas
• Publication/ Report Number:
  K-TRAN: KSU-07-3
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  Kansas
• Edition:
  Final report; Aug. 2006-May 2009
• Corporate Publisher:
  Kansas. Dept. of Transportation. Bureau of Materials & Research
• Abstract:
  The older population (>65 years) numbered 36.8 million in the United States in 2005. By 2030, the number is ; estimated to be 71.5 million, almost twice as many. An increase in the older population means an increase in ; older drivers as well. As a result of the natural aging process, the possibility of older drivers being involved in ; crashes and sustaining severe injuries increases, according to past findings. The objective of this study was to ; identify characteristics of older drivers involved in crashes in Kansas as well as associated safety issues, which ; can be used to suggest potential countermeasures for improving safety. ; A detailed characteristic analysis was carried out for older, middle-aged, and younger drivers involved in crashes, ; using crash data obtained from the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT), and comparisons were made ; among the groups. However, the characteristic analysis had no basis with regard to injury severity and hence, ; univariate statistical analysis was carried out to highlight these severities. In addition, a survey was conducted ; focusing on identifying older-driver behaviors, potential problems, and level of exposure to various conditions. ; From the severity analysis, it was found that injury severity of older drivers in crashes occurring on rural roads ; were significantly higher compared to those on urban roads. Therefore, a detailed analysis was carried out using ; the decomposition method and ordered probit modeling to identify contributing factors leading to the situation. ; According to the findings, the number of older male drivers involved in crashes was higher compared to older ; female drivers, even though older driver licensees’ data indicate the opposite. Most of the older-driver-involved ; crashes occurred under good environmental conditions and at intersections. A majority of older drivers had ; difficulties associated with left- turn maneuvering and preferred to avoid high-traffic roads and other demanding ; conditions. Exposure to inclement weather conditions and difficulties associated with merging, diverging, and ; identifying speeds and distance of oncoming traffic have lead to higher crash propensity. Crashes occurring ; at rural arterials and at hill crests were critical in causing severe injuries. In rural areas, driving in the wrong ; direction, failing to comply with traffic signs and signals, and speeding were identified as frequent contributing ; factors in severe crashes.
  More +
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  C1668
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/16824/dot_16824_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 230.65 KB]
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:90d5e7a599e194deb7761442b606f4c93e817810fef27a73373ccc3723c8a2ed