ASSESSING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ADVANCED TRAVELER INFORMATION ON OLDER DRIVER TRAVEL BEHAVIOR AND MODE CHOICE

For the first time in American History, more than 50% of the United States population is over the age of 50 years old. With this change comes a number of challenges relative to meeting the safety and mobility needs of the American driving and traveling population. While the implementation of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) shows promise as one of many tools to address current and future transportation challenges, the effectiveness of these technologies is unclear with respect to the ever increasing "elderly" population. This research paper focuses on the older driver/traveler needs in the specific area of Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS). For the research documented herein, special focus groups (hands-on with ATIS technologies) and surveys were conducted to assess the driver utilization and understanding of many recently implemented ATIS technologies in the San Antonio, Texas area. These focus groups and survey panels were developed for older drivers as well as younger drivers so as to identify and isolate special needs of older drivers relative to ATIS. Special surveys were also developed and distributed for the Lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. This region sees a dramatic increase in older individuals, primarily from the northern portion of the U.S., for approximately six (6) months of every year.