This workshop presents information on FHWA’s newly released

2014 Handbook for Designing Roadways for the Aging Population.

As the proportion of the US population age 65 and over will

increase significantly in the coming decades, highway design and

operation practices that explicitly recognize these changes will

better serve this growing segment of the nation’s population.

This Handbook for Designing Roadways for the Aging Population

provides practitioners with a practical information source that

links aging road user performance to highway design, operational,

and traffic engineering features. The workshop covers information

in this Handbook and should be of interest to highway designers,

traffic engineers, and highway safety specialists involved in the

design and operation of highway facilities.

Designing Roadways for the Aging Population Transportation Practitioners Workshop

8:30 am Module 1 – Workshop Introduction and Demographic Trends The aging population poses challenges to the transportation profession. Information on the

significance of this major demographic change and how it will impact our current understanding

of the “design driver” is presented. Safety information of older drivers and pedestrians is

presented. Participants are given an overview of the need for the Handbook for Designing

Roadways for the Aging Population. The objectives of the course are identified as well as the

relationship of the Handbook to existing design manuals, such as the AASHTO Green Book and

the MUTCD. Participants will learn how the Handbook was developed and how the

implementation guidelines can be practically applied.

9:00 am Module 2 - Age-Related Diminished Capabilities The categories of diminished capabilities including reductions in visual acuity, contrast

sensitivity, the visual field, reduced attention window, sensitivity to glare, decreased dark

adaptation, decreased motion sensitivity, divided attention, perception-reaction time, working

memory, a working- memory exercise, diminished mental capabilities, diminished physical

capabilities, and countermeasures to accommodate physical declines are presented.

10:15 am Break

10:30 am Module 3 Handbook Treatments - Intersections The recommended treatments for intersections and the rationale and supporting information are

presented. The 24 recommendations associated with at-grade intersections are presented in terms

of their relationship to the AASHTO Green Book, the MUTCD, the Traffic Engineering

Handbook, and other guidance.

12:00 noon Lunch Break

1:00 pm Module 3 (Part 2) Handbook Treatments –

Interchanges, Roadway Segments, Work Zones, and Rail-Grade Crossings The 8 recommendations related to interchanges, the 10 related to roadway segments, the 7

related to work zones, and the 2 related to railroad crossings are presented in terms of their

relationship with the AASHTO Green Book, the MUTCD, the Traffic Engineering Handbook,

and other guidance.

2:15 pm Break

2:30 pm Module 4 - Explanation of Implementation Example Workshop participants will work through an example exercise, which illustrates the use of the

Handbook in the development of real-world solutions.

3:15 pm Module 5 - Implementation Exercise

4:00 pm Course close-out and evaluations