Road Infrastructure Design for Older Road Users Dr Lucy Rackliff, Aston University

Outline What factors make older road users special? What helps to keep them safe? What prevents them from staying mobile? How should infrastructure be designed?

Background Ageing population, expecting increased mobility. Already over-represented in casualty statistics. Particularly at risk – In urban areas At complex junctions As pedestrians

Why? Physiological changes Other factors? Bone density Muscle strength Eye sight deteriorations Reaction times Information processing Walk speed Other factors? Drugs (and interactions)

Why infrastructure changes? Easier & cheaper. Could benefit a wider group of road users. More acceptable than restricting driving. Do not have to be the only solution. Option Potential percentage saving Road user and road usage 33% Vehicle safety measures 25% Low cost road environment remedies 20% . Sabey and Taylor, 1980

What is problematic?

What about pedestrians?

How can we make things safer? Grade separation. Dedicated infrastructure (crossings) Speed limits. Parking.

Is there a way of redressing the balance?

Safety Mobility Grade separation. Dedicated crossings. Roundabouts. Self-explaining roads. “Voids” and unattractive spaces. Increase walk distances Make road crossing problematic. Increase vehicle speeds.

Why promote mobility? Reduces health problems in older people. Increases “desirable” attributes such as community cohesion, viability of local businesses, activity and independence for younger people. Encourages the use of more sustainable modes.

But…… May increase fatalities, in the same way as cycling fatalities have now become a major cause for concern in London. Without detailed, disaggregate data on where people walk and cycle, how long it takes them, how far they go, it is impossible to say whether risk increases or decreases – only whether accidents/casualties go up or down.

What can we do?

Infrastructure design for older road users Protects them from risk – Parked cars Fewer lanes Lower speed limits Avoids need to observe signals AND yield Provides a median Limits the amount of information to be observed/acted on Allows as long as possible for information to be processed Avoids narrow angles of intersection Ensures instructions are not obscured or degraded

Design for older users does not - Prevent them from making journeys, whether as a pedestrian or driver.

In conclusion Finding the right compromise between the needs of competing users in urban areas is not easy. Finding the right balance between safety and mobility is not easy. Protecting road users often requires a package of measures – appropriate infrastructure design is one element of that. Older road users and their specific needs should be a policy priority.

Thank you. L.rackliff@aston.ac.uk Chair@airso.org.uk