Policy prescriptions to preserve mobility for seniors--A dose of realism

This paper advocates policy change in three key areas: infrastructure, driver licensing, and access to private resources for transportation alternatives. Policy makers are encouraged to plan for the transportation future of our aging society by prioritizing public expenditures for roads and highways according to design and engineering practices already proven to assist older drivers and pedestrians. By adopting minimum, evidence-based requirements for visual, mental and physical capability for licensure and uniformly applying them at all ages, across all states, policy makers can improve the safety of older drivers without unfairly restricting their mobility-and need not increase the regulatory burden in doing so. By reviewing and replicating already successful state policies that either create incentives or remove barriers to the use of private resources for non-profit, senior transportation, policy makers can help communities access the labor and capital, as well as manage the risks of market-oriented, non-profit mobility solutions.