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Federal, state, and local governments have a critical role in fostering the opportunity for older adults to maintain mobility and independence as current drivers as well as when they can no longer or choose not to drive. The governments of many countries have developed long-term strategic plans to address the mobility needs of the growing older adult population, and numerous jurisdictions throughout the world have established specialized work groups and formal committees to investigate the mobility needs of the aging population and to provide recommendations for future transportation policy as it relates to older adults. This chapter discusses the role federal, state, and local governments have in helping older adults maintain mobility throughout all stages of the driving continuum. The key challenges and opportunities for providing adequate mobility options are discussed as well as promising initiatives that have been undertaken to ensure a transportation system that is robust to handle the changing needs of the population.

Publisher Summary Today, safety belts are standard equipment for every seating position in every vehicle produced for sale. Since their early development, researchers have continued to assess the effectiveness of safety belts and make design improvements. Early safety belt designs reduced injuries compared to riding unbelted, but they also had some serious weaknesses. For example, the first designs typically included only one belt strap. Designs with a strap that only went across the waist left a motorist's upper torso vulnerable to injury, and designs with only a sash sometimes resulted in motorists sliding forward under the sash belt during a collision. A more effective design combined the two into one belt, a variation of which is still used in the most modern vehicles. The modern three-point belt is a very effective safety device. Given a crash, these belts are estimated to reduce the likelihood of a fatality by approximately 40–45% and reduce the likelihood of an injury by as much as 80%, depending on the type of crash and vehicle. Most cars today also include many other safety features as standard equipment, as well as optional safety equipment. However, there is an important key difference between safety belts and other safety features such as air bags and third brake lights: Motorists must use safety belts in order for them to be effective. The effectiveness of safety belts, and of mandatory use laws, has resulted in enormous public health savings in terms of both injuries and fatalities, in addition to medical costs. However, there remains room for improvement, .

Publisher Summary Naturalistic observation is a hallmark of scientific inquiry and is central to many empirical data collection efforts. There are two main strengths of this method. The first is that it taps directly into the behavior of interest and does not rely on having to interpret proxies of behaviors such as self-reports. Second, because the behaviors observed occur in natural settings, naturalistic observation has strong construct and face validity; that is, it very likely represents reality than argument that is more difficult to make with other research methods, such as a driving simulator. On the other hand, naturalistic observation as a research method has some drawbacks. The main disadvantage is generalizability. The value of naturalistic observation techniques to any area of traffic psychology is dependent on how well the study is designed and executed. A study with a flawed design will not yield results that are generalizable, and even a well-designed study will not be useful if the observational methods are not valid and reliable. Thus naturalistic observational studies require appropriate study designs, reproducible protocols, extensive observer training, and adequate resources to yield valid and generalizable results.