Florida's Safe
Mobility for Life Coalition
The Florida Department of Transportation
(FDOT) has established a statewide coalition to address the
specific needs of Florida’s aging road users.
The Safe Mobility for Life Coalition’s mission
is to improve the safety, access and mobility of Florida’s aging
road users by developing a comprehensive strategic plan to
reduce injuries and crashes among this vulnerable population.
Safe Mobility for Life Coalition member
organizations include representatives from the following:
·
AAA Auto Club South
·
AARP
·
Area Agency on Aging
for North Florida, Inc.
·
Area Agency on Aging
of Pasco-Pinellas, Inc.
·
Carlin Rogers
Consulting
·
Commission for the
Transportation Disadvantaged
·
Community Traffic Safety Teams Coalition
·
Department of
Economic Opportunity
·
Department of
Elder Affairs
·
Department of Health
·
Department
of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
·
Department of Transportation
·
Federal Highway
Administration – Florida Division
·
Florida Association of
Area Agencies on Aging
·
Florida Association of
Senior Centers
·
Florida Highway Patrol
·
Florida International
University
·
Florida
Public Transportation Association
·
Florida Regional Councils Association
·
Florida State
University College of Medicine
·
Lee County Sheriff's Office
·
Metropolitan Planning
Organization Advisory Council
·
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (Ex-Officio
Member)
·
Pepper Institute on Aging and Public Policy
·
StarMetro
·
Tallahassee Senior
Center
·
The University of
Central Florida
·
The University of
Florida Institute for Mobility, Activity and Participation.
The Pepper Institute on Aging and Public Policy has
received a safety grant to assist the Safe Mobility for Life
Coalition reach their overall goal to reduce crashes, injuries,
and fatalities among Florida's aging road users. Learn more
about the Pepper
Institute at this link:
http://pepperinstitute.fsu.edu/
Florida's Aging Road User
Strategic Safety Plan
The Safe Mobility for Life Coalition has been working together
to develop a comprehensive broad-based strategic safety plan to
reduce injuries and fatalities for Florida's aging population.
The Coalition has identified
ten emphasis areas that are included in the Aging
Road User Strategic Safety Plan along with their respective
objectives and strategies to help meet their goals:
Advocacy and Policy: Inform public
officials about the importance and need to support national, state,
regional, and
local policy and program initiatives which promote and sustain
aging road user safety and mobility.
Aging in Place: Promote and encourage
practices that support and enhance aging in place.
Assessment, Remediation and Rehabilitation:
Enhance aging road user safety and mobility through assessment,
remediation, and rehabilitation.
Data Collection and Analysis:
Provide stakeholders with the best available data to make
decisions that improve aging road user safety and mobility.
Licensing and Enforcement: Promote safe
driving and mobility for aging road users through licensing and
enforcement.
Other Road Users: Promote the safe mobility
of aging vulnerable road users (pedestrians, transit riders,
bicyclists, and other non-motorized vehicles).
Outreach and Education: Provide
information and resources regarding aging road user safety and
mobility.
Prevention and Early Recognition: Promote
the value of prevention strategies and early recognition of
aging at-risk drivers to stakeholders.
Program Management, Evaluation and
Resources: Manage and evaluate aging road user safety and
mobility activities to maximize the effectiveness of programs
and resources.
Transitioning from Driving: Bridge
the gap between driving retirement and mobility independence.
TRIP,
a national transportation research group and AASHTO,
the American Association of State Highway Transportation
Officials have released a report "Keeping Baby Boomers
Mobile: Preserving the Mobility and Safety of Older Americans."
Their report highlights some of the work we have been doing in
Florida and specifically the work of our Safe Mobility for Life
Coalition in our development of this strategic safety plan.
Their report can be viewed at:
http://www.tripnet.org/docs/Older_Drivers_TRIP_Report_Feb_2012.pdf
An electronic version of Florida's Aging Road User Strategic Safety Plan
can be accessed at the following link:
http://www.SafeandMobileSeniors.org/pdfs/FLAgingRoadUserStategicSafetyPlan.pdf
If you are interested in receiving a hard copy of the strategic
plan, please send an email to
Stefanie Kiedrowski with the Pepper Institute.
The Coalition is now working on the implementation of this plan
and you will see more information added as we continue to move
forward. If you have any questions, please contact
FDOT's Program Manager
Gail Holley.
Are you interested getting first hand program and resource information as
our Safe Mobility for Life Coalition works to
implement Florida’s Aging Road User Strategic Safety Plan?
Then you will want to join our electronic mailing list! To sign
up or make changes to your existing account, please go to:
https://lists.fsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/safe-mobility-for-life-coalition
News Articles
Articles related to the work of the Coalition will be posted in
this section:
Tampa Tribune "Older Drivers are Safer,
Data Show"
Sun-Sentinel "Growing ranks
of older drivers among safest on Florida roads"
Transportation Nation
"Florida DOT's Hattaway Looks at Non-Car Options for Seniors"
WFSU
"Seniors Face Transportation
Challenges"
DHSMV's newsletter
"United
We Guide Team Wins Davis Productivity Award"
FDOT's
Sun Guide Disseminator
"Safety is Golden"
DOEA's Elder Update "Safe Mobility for Life to Host Statewide Focus Groups"
Sun-Sentinel "Growing ranks
of older drivers among safest on Florida roads"
Florida State University's
"FSU to Help Keep Seniors Safe on Florida's Roads"
The American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.
(AOTA) establishes
Older Driver Safety Awareness Week in
December to promote the importance of older driver
safety and mobility that helps ensure older adults
remain active within their communities. Each day has a
different focus and you can find information related to
each of these focus areas on this website.
Monday:
Family Conversations
Tuesday:
Screenings and Evaluations
Wednesday:
Driving Equipment/Adaptations
Thursday:
Taking Changes in Stride
Friday:
Life after Driving
The Florida Safe Mobility for
Life Coalition is an endorsing organization and supports this week by conducting
and promoting older
driver safety awareness and educational events throughout the
state. Some of the activities going on around the state this
week include:
Florida Turnpike: All week will broadcast aging road road
user safety and mobility information and resources at kiosks
in the service plazas.
Twitter and Facebook:
Daily posts on the different themes for Older Driver
Safety Awareness Week that target both
consumers and
professionals.
Press Release:
Pepper Institute discusses the results of the Coalition's 2011
Aging Road User Survey.
12/3/11 - Miami-Dade County: Florida CarFit event at the
Betty T. Ferguson Recreational Complex
in Miami Gardens. For detailed information or to register
to attend this safety event, go to:
http://www.car-fit.org/carfit/ViewEvent/1906/
12/3/11 -
Orange County: Florida CarFit event at the Old Florida National Bank in Orlando.
For detailed information or to register to attend this safety
event, go to:
http://www.car-fit.org/carfit/ViewEvent/1913/
12/7/11 - Wakulla County:
Florida CarFit event at the Wakulla County Senior Citizens
Center in
Crawfordville. For detailed
information or to register to attend this safety event, go
to:
http://www.car-fit.org/carfit/ViewEvent/1930/
12/7/11 - St. Johns County: Florida CarFit event at the
Ponte Vedra Concert Hall in Ponte Vedra. For detailed
information or to register to attend this safety event, go
to: http://www.car-fit.org/carfit/ViewEvent/1940/
12/8/11 - Jefferson County:
Florida CarFit event at the First United Methodist Church in
Monticello. For detailed
information or to register to attend this safety event, go
to:
http://www.car-fit.org/carfit/ViewEvent/1921/
12/9/11 - Gadsden County: Florida CarFit event at the Gadsden County Senior Center. For detailed
information or to register to attend this safety event, go
to:
http://www.car-fit.org/carfit/ViewEvent/1922/
12/9/11 - St. Johns County: Florida CarFit event at the
St. Johns County Tax Collector Office in Julington Creek. For detailed
information or to register to attend this safety event, go
to:
http://www.car-fit.org/carfit/ViewEvent/1945/
12/9/11 - Pasco County: Florida CarFit event at the
Port Richey AAA Office in Port Richey. For detailed
information or to register to attend this safety event, go
to: http://www.car-fit.org/carfit/ViewEvent/1948/
FDOT's Safety Advisor: Article addressing how
aging affects driving and how to help older drivers anticipate
and accept change, can be found
here.
A listing of the 2010 Older Driver Safety
Awareness events can be found at this link:
http://www.SafeandMobileSeniors.org/pdfs/Older Driver Safety
Awareness Week Events_2010.pdf
