GAO: Foresight Issues Challenge DOT on Technology Trends

Trends for certain vulnerable road-user groups point to heightened safety challenges in the years ahead, and DOT is taking some steps to address these. By 2025, the annual number of road fatalities for older drivers may be double what it was in 2005. The main reason for the projected increase is that the first members of the baby boom generation will reach their 65th birthday in 2011, and the number and percentage of Americans older than 65 will steadily increase for several years. In response to this trend, DOT is examining various issues relevant to older drivers (see Band and Perel 2007).