11:26 a.m., Jan. 20, 2010----To educate older drivers in Delaware about safer road programs and policies designed specifically for them, the University of Delaware and the Roadway Safety Foundation have launched the Safe and Mobile Delaware campaign.

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The campaign includes a half-hour documentary on older driver safety in Delaware, which has aired on WHYY's Yinfo channel. Other campaign features include both radio and television public service announcements as well as a campaign Web site.

A press conference was held Jan. 13 in Wilmington to preview the documentary and public service announcements for members of the media. Speakers included Rita Landgraf, secretary of the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services; Mark Luszcz, assistant chief traffic engineer with the Delaware Department of Transportation; Cathy Rossi, manager of public and government affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic; and Dennis Christie, of the executive council of AARP Delaware.

“As Delaware's elderly population grows over the next decade, roadway and intersection designs will become increasingly important to keeping the state's overall population safe and independent,” said Gregory M. Cohen, executive director of the Roadway Safety Foundation. “This calls for state and local policy makers, transportation planners and engineers, social service providers, and community leaders to work together to provide appropriate design strategies and awareness programs.”

The goal of the campaign is to educate older drivers about the findings of a June 2007 report titled, Assessing the Needs of Delaware's Older Drivers, produced by the Institute for Public Administration (IPA) in UD's College of Education and Public Policy.

“The report takes an in-depth look at the issues and implications related to driving and long-term mobility including a detailed look at current road designs to determine whether modifications are necessary to better accommodate Delaware's older drivers,” said Bernard Dworsky, a senior policy adviser with IPA. “Possible modifications that are discussed include making intersections more driver- and pedestrian-friendly and improving traffic signs and signal design.”

Delaware mirrors the U.S. in terms of its population aged 60 and older, which is growing at a substantial rate. In 2003, approximately 15 percent of the state's licensed drivers fell into the 65-plus age group.

According to the U.S. Census, there will be a 133 percent increase in the 65-and-older population in Delaware between 2000 and 2030.

Factors that pose specific risks to senior drivers are many, including impaired vision, diminished cognition, decreased motor function and reaction time, increased difficulty maintaining a vehicle, increased injury from crashes and increased vehicle congestion and travel speeds.

Solutions include roadway and intersection designs that help all motorists, not just seniors, such as appropriate design strategies and awareness programs; roadway modifications to make intersections more driver- and pedestrian-friendly (e.g., the adjustment of signal timing for pedestrian walkways and applying pedestrian countdown signals in areas with moderate to high pedestrian volumes); redesigning left-turn lanes at intersections and incorporating roundabouts at intersections.

“Creating safer roads for seniors can help all drivers in Delaware,” noted Dworsky.

The Roadway Safety Foundation (RSF) is the only national organization solely dedicated to reducing deaths by improving the physical characteristics of America's roadways -- design and engineering, operating conditions, removal of roadside hazards, and the effective use of safety features. RSF works to attain its goals by building awareness through media campaigns and outreach activities, developing educational materials and forming roadway safety partnerships between the private and public sectors.

Editor's note: WHYY-TV 12 featured a story about the Safe and Mobile Delaware campaign on the Jan. 15 edition of its weekly Delaware news magazine, First. To view the video, click on the link and select Chapter 5.