Recommended."--CHOICE: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries

Coughlin and D'Ambrosio's edited volume is a welcome contribution to highlighting this issue for gerontologists. The collection is an informative and useful reference for students, researchers, practitioners, planners, and policy analysts"--The Gerontologist

This solution-focused volume fills a gap in the literature by addressing the key issues around mobility and transportation for the aging Baby Boomer generation--issues that will be significantly different than those of previous generations of older adults. This new generation, many of whom will continue to work past the traditional retirement age and expect to pursue an active lifestyle, may have to confront new transportation technology, the need to use public transportation, and ways to continue driving safely as their eyesight fades and reaction time slows down. This volume examines many of the issues faced by policymakers, transportation officials, vehicle manufacturers, health and human services professionals, and aging adults themselves as the largest generation prepares to enter late adulthood.

The volume's editors are both at the MIT AgeLab, whose multi-disciplinary team designs, develops and deploys innovations to enhance quality of life for aging populations. Through the contributions of a diverse group of theorists and practitioners, including recommendations from the National Older Driver Safety Advisory Council, a collaboration between AARP's Driver Safety Program and the MIT AgeLab, the book discusses several key topics pertinent to Aging America and transportation. Among them are the changing demographics of the population, how this generation's lifestyle choices affect mobility, technology trends in private vehicles, changes in the infrastructure and transportation system, the "new" older driver, and issues of safety and education among older drivers. This book also explores practical solutions and strategies, such as new transportation options and innovations that will significantly impact the future of mobility for older adults, for keeping these seniors active and mobile well into their later years.

Key Features:

Focuses on the unique mobility needs of the aging Baby Boomer generation

Provides practical solutions and strategies for policy changes to enhance the mobility of older adults

Examines issues faced by policymakers, transportation officials, vehicle manufacturers, health and human services professionals, and aging adults

Discusses strategies for updating the infrastructure and transportation system, driving safety education for older drivers, and trends in private vehicle innovations

National Older Driver Safety Advisory Council Members Contributors Preface List of Abbreviations Acknowledgments Section I: Setting the Context 1. Purpose of This Volume The National Older Driver Safety Advisory Council 2. The Continuing and Growing Importance of Mobility 3. Describing the Older Adult Population 4. The Travel and Mobility Needs of Older People Now and in the Future Section II: The Changing Transportation System 5. The Changing Car: New Vehicle Technologies 6. The Future Highway Infrastructure-How It Can Help Older Drivers and Pedestrians Retain Their Mobility 7. Innovative Mobility Services and Technologies: A Pathway Toward Transit Flexibility, Convenience, and Choice Section III: The New Older Driver 8. The New Older Driver in the United States and Canada: Changes and Challenges 9. Reducing Older Road-User Deaths 10. Beyond the Car 11. Older Driver Education 12. Older Driver Education Today and the Possibilities for Tomorrow Section IV: Innovations for Future Mobility of the Baby Boomers 13. Outside the Box: New Models for Transportation Partnerships 14. If Demographics Is Destiny, Are We Preparing for It? Aging Baby Boomers, Transportation Planning, and Investing in Mobility Tomorrow 15. National Older Driver Safety Advisory Council Recommendations for Policy Makers Index