The purpose of this investigation was to determine which intersection operational characteristics could be altered to accommodate age-related changes. Two key drivers issues were examined in order to identify the specific older driver problems and then to make recommendations for changes to current standards. The first study concerned how well older drivers understand the various configurations of "protected" (the driver has right of way to make the left turn) and "permitted" (the left-turn vehicle must yield to oncoming traffic) left-turn signals that are currently in use. Researchers found that older drivers do not understand the protected/permitted left-turn signalizations as well as younger drivers do, and that neither group had a full understanding of left-turn signalization. The second study was a controlled field study using an instrumented vehicle to investigate the decision-reaction times and decelerations of younger and older drivers. No significant differences between younger and older drivers were found in this study. (Author/publisher)
Abstract