Forget the myths about older drivers, says the OECD. They are safer than others think, have fewer road accidents than other groups and deserve to have new policies. Sandra O'Connell reports
Governments and the motoring industry must take greater cognisance of the mobility needs of older people, according to a new report from the OECD. Entitled Ageing and Transport - Mobility Needs and Safety Issues" the report aims, among other things, to dispel the perception that older people represent a driving hazard.
Given that the "baby-boomer" generation (as those born after the war are referred to) are now approaching old age, it's a timely call.
According to the report, in most OECD countries, older people comprise the fastest growing segment of the population.
In many countries, one in every four persons will be aged 65 or over by 2030. By 2050 the population of those over 80 years of age is expected to have tripled. This will place new and growing demands on transport systems, it says.
"On the whole, older people who drive will prefer to continue doing so for as long as possible. They will also expect to have access to alternative transport modes that meet their individual needs, especially as they approach 80 years of age. Future transport systems and services will play an essential role in supporting independent, healthy ageing."
However, one of the biggest obstacles facing older drivers is the existence of many "myths and misconceptions about older road users," it says.
"Older drivers tend to be safer than is commonly believed. They have fewer reported crashes per capita or per number of drivers." In fact the most important concern is their frailty and consequent vulnerability to personal injury or death in a crash.
The current practice of mandatory age-testing is ineffective, it says. It recommends the establishment of a licence management alternative that targets only those drivers considered at higher risk.
This would allow for assessments to be more thorough and individually tailored. It would require a community based referral systems involving doctors and health professionals, police, community workers, friends and family of older drivers as well as older drivers themselves, it says.
The report recommends that a media campaign "to counter the misconceptions that create a distorted image of older road users".
It also says that new technologies can make a significant contribution to improving the safety and use of roads, streets and vehicles by older drivers and passengers as well as by older pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users.
"Unless there are marked improvements in vehicle safety features, there will be a significant increase in fatalities for older drivers and pedestrians, more than for any other age group", it warns.
Vehicle manufacturers must be mandated to increase substantially the protection of vehicle occupants in the case of a crash and to design vehicles with less aggressive external characteristics in order to protect pedestrians. They should also be designed to be easier for older people to drive, it says.
Governments too are urged to change their ways by improving roads to make them safer and easier for older people. In particular the report calls for the provision of safer roads and roadside environments for older drivers, pedestrians and cyclists as well as for users of powered wheelchairs and scooters.
"Improved road environments will facilitate or reduce older drivers' need to make complex decisions and perform time related tasks and will give them advance notice," it says. User friendly and convenient public transport, featuring low-floor buses and trams to facilitate kerbside access, is also called for.
There is, it says, an urgent need for governments to improve their land-use planning if "ageing in place" is to be major strategy for managing the mobility and safety needs of older people.
Particular attention should be given to finding ways to locate residential areas closer to the goods, services and facilities needed by older people. In the meantime, where sidewalks and safe road crossings are lacking, these should be retrofitted. Where cycle routes are introduced, these should cater for powered wheelchairs and scooters.
CONSULTANT physician at TCD's Department of Medical Gerontology, Professor Desmond O'Neill, was part of the editorial panel of the OECD report . He believes "mandatory age based testing for drivers is at best ineffective and at worst, harmful".
This is because fear of undertaking such testing discourages many older people from driving at all, thus severely curtailing their mobility. Such a curtailment can lead to the onset of problems such as depression. It also encourages older people to become pedestrians and cyclists, which can be much more perilous for them.
Once forced to stop driving, very often older people will not use public transport, he says. This can be either because it is a habit they have never developed, or because such transport is unsuitable for them. "Who wants to stand around at a bus stop in the cold, or try to manage on a swaying bus?" he asks.
He believes the existence of mandatory driver testing for the over 70s displays a remarkable degree of ageism in our society. The myth that older drivers represent a driving hazard is a deep-seated prejudice which is entirely unfounded, he says.
"Older drivers are the safest on the roads because they have the benefit of wisdom and experience. They tend to think ahead." While their reaction time may be slower, those drivers with the fastest recorded reaction times tend to be aged 15 - 25 years. It is this age group that is actually more likely to be involved in accidents, he points out.
"Those people who go on about older drivers presenting a danger should think about the fact that they themselves will be older one day too," he cautions. "Older people are not some strange, alien race. When we talk about them, we should remember that we are talking about ourselves."