Canadian data shows that, even while overall fatal and injury traffic collisions are decreasing, the involvement of aging road users in these serious collisions has grown in terms of both proportion and frequency. The increasing involvement of older road users reflects the increasing number of older persons in the population. The involvement of older persons in collisions can be expected to continue rising as the aging “baby boom” generation forms an increasing proportion of the driving and general populations, and insists on retaining their driving privileges. To address this trend, road agencies may undertake a range of measures to meet the greater needs of aging road users, whose visual, physical, and cognitive abilities generally become increasingly limited with age. Meeting the needs of this growing segment of the population ensures that the transportation infrastructure is socially sustainable and satisfies the needs of all users. This paper and presentation examine ways that an agency can respond to the challenge of maintaining safe mobility for its aging population. A number of agencies within and outside Canada have developed strategies and initiatives to meet the needs of their aging populations. While these strategies and initiatives consider a range of measures (engineering, education, licensing, and transit options), the focus of this paper is on engineering measures that can be implemented during the design of new or upgraded infrastructure, or during routine maintenance activities. The paper focuses in part on the initiative undertaken by the Alberta Motor Association to develop the Traffic Safety Engineering Toolbox for Aging Road Users. This Guide adapts and expands the group of measures identified in the US Guidelines and Recommendations to Accommodate Older Drivers and Pedestrians (Federal Highway Administration, 2001) to the Canadian/Albertan driving environment, and incorporates more recent research and best practices. The Alberta initiative can serve as a useful model for other Canadian jurisdictions needing to develop their own programs. The paper/presentation is authored by the engineers from Opus International Consultants who developed the Alberta Guide and led workshops to introduce its content to representatives from a range of road agencies. This paper and presentation will be of interest to a wide range of conference attendees, who may increasingly need to accommodate aging populations through engineering improvements. Emphasis is placed on the potential to adopt engineering enhancements on a maintenance basis, so that upgrades to accommodate aging road users are continually and progressively implemented within ongoing maintenance budgets as the population ages.
