Citing a projected increase in senior citizens on the road, U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire said he will propose spending $500 million per year to make roadways safer for older people.

The legislation, the Older Driver and Pedestrian Safety and Roadway Enhancement Act of 2009, calls for spending on improvements to infrastructure and road signs to better accommodate older drivers' and pedestrians' needs, said Mr. Altmire, D-McCandless.

He cited findings of AARP's Public Policy Institute that one in four drivers will be 65 or older by 2025, and that most transportation planners and engineers say they don't consider older drivers' needs.

"By making improvements that will make roadway hazards more visible and signs easier to read, we can make our roads safer for drivers of all ages," Mr. Altmire said.

Advocates for senior citizens favor more left-turn lanes with green turn arrows and stoppage of oncoming traffic; reflective roadway signs that have larger fonts; wider and brighter pavement markings; and roundabouts, which channel traffic continuously and slowly in a circular pattern through intersections.

"Clearly, the older road user is the customer of the future," the AARP institute said in a recent report.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation's Fatality Analysis Reporting System, crashes account for less than 1 percent of fatalities among people 70 and older; heart disease and cancer are the leading causes of death.

People ages 70 and older are less likely to be licensed to drive compared with younger people, and drivers 70 and older also drive fewer miles. However, older drivers are keeping their licenses longer and driving more miles than in the past, the department said.

James Baron, communications director for the American Traffic Safety Services Association, whose members manufacture and install signs, road striping, guard rails, barrels and cones, said recent advances include retroreflective signs, which are the brightest highway signs ever made, and highway striping with embedded glass beads that reflect light and make lines more visible in darkness and wet weather.

Money for the improvements would come from the Highway Trust Fund, which is financed with the federal gasoline tax and is projected to run dry in the coming weeks.

Congress may consider an emergency infusion to the trust fund before its upcoming recess. It pumped in $8 billion to rescue the fund last summer.

Mr. Altmire's bill also would establish a position within the U.S. Department of Transportation dedicated to ensuring older drivers' needs are accounted for.

"Congressman Altmire deserves credit not only for introducing this bill but also for having the foresight to recognize that making roads safer for older drivers will make them safer for everyone," said David Certner, AARP legislative policy director.