Older Pedestrian Characteristics for Use in Highway Design

Details

• Creators:
  Knoblauch, Richard ; Nitzburg, Marsha ; Robert Dewar ; Templer, John A. ; Pietrucha, M. T.
• Corporate Creators:
  Center for Applied Research
• Contributor:
  Fegan, John
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. Federal Highway Administration. Office of Safety and Traffic Operations R&D
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Aged pedestrians
  • Crash exposure
  • Data collection
  • Design
  • Field studies
  • Guides to the literature
  • Highway design
  • Pedestrian areas
  • Recommendations
  • Signalized intersections
  More +
• Publication/ Report Number:
  FHWA-RD-93-177
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Corporate Publisher:
  United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration
• Description:
  The objective of this project was to develop traffic planning and engineering guidelines for the design of pedestrian facilities that are sensitive to the needs of older pedestrians. A detailed task analysis and literature review were conducted to identify the aspects of the pedestrian's tasks that are difficult for older persons, including motor, sensory, perceptual, cognitive, and behavioral factors. Several activities were undertaken to identify specific problems experienced by older pedestrians that could be addressed by changes in design standards and operational practices. These activities included analysis of accident exposure data, a survey of older pedestrians, focus group discussions, and a survey of practitioners. It was determined that older pedestrians experience difficulties at signalized intersections and often do not have sufficient time to cross. A field study was conducted to determine the walking speed, startup time, and stride length of older pedestrians. More than 7,000 pedestrians in 4 cities were observed in order to measure these parameters. Specific recommendations for changes to highway design and operational practices are described.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  DTFH61-91-C-00028
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/68163/dot_68163_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.93 MB]
• Collection(s):
  Federal Highway Administration
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e8d3c37b70333d01ee97a713801dc458aab1e3d4b877e985d2bb0393e2586b3e2e455c0bd0bd9813823a1e81dea530938f908047a09f55bb204c44bd8db6a810