Maintaining Safe Mobility for the Ageing Population
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Maintaining safe mobility for the ageing population The role of the private car Box, Gandolfi and Mitchell April 2010 RAC Foundation RAC Foundation The Royal Automobile Club Foundation for Motoring Limited is a charity which explores the economic, mobility, safety and environmental issues relating to roads and responsible road users. Independent and authoritative research, carried out for the public benefit, is central to the Foundation’s activities. RAC Foundation 89-91 Pall Mall London SW1Y 5HS Tel no: 020 7747 3445 www.racfoundation.org Registered Charity No. 1002705 April 2010 © Copyright Royal Automobile Club Foundation for Motoring Limited Maintaining safe mobility for the ageing population The role of the private car Box, Gandolfi and Mitchell April 2010 This report has been prepared by Elizabeth Box MA MSc MCIHT, Head of Research at the RAC Foundation. Dr Julie Gandolfi, BA (Hons.) MSc. PhD PGCPSE Driving Research Limited (with assistance from Dr Sarah Fletcher) and Dr Kit Mitchell, Independent Consultant, have provided the background papers. Acknowledgements The RAC Foundation would like to thank Dr Julie Gandolfi and Dr Kit Mitchell for their insightful contributions to this report. Their papers present the authors’ views and do not necessarily represent those of the RAC Foundation. The RAC Foundation would also like to thank the following organisations who attended an expert seminar to offer advice and discuss the contents of the RAC Foundation’s own policy paper. It is stressed that the opinions and conclusions outlined in this compendium of papers are those of the RAC Foundation and the contributing authors. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of the organisations listed. Association of British Insurers (ABI) Age Concern / Help the Aged Ann Frye Limited Bert Morris Consultancy Services Department for Transport (DfT) Driving Standards Agency (DSA) Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) Helen Hamlyn Centre, Royal College of Art International Longevity Centre - UK (ILC-UK) National Pensioners Convention Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS) Psychology School of Life and Health Sciences, Aston University Road Safety Branch, Hampshire County Council Road Safety Department, Suffolk County Council Road Safety Foundation School of Psychology, University of Birmingham Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) UCL (University College London) Centre for Transport and Society, University of the West of England (UWE) Vehicle Design Department, Royal College of Art RAC Foundation Contents Foreword v About this report vi Executive Summary 2 1. Introduction 12 2. What we know about older drivers 12 2.1 Driving amongst older people in the UK 12 2.2 The safety of older people behind the wheel 15 2.3 The effects of ageing and their impact on driving ability 17 2.4 The mobility consequences of reducing or stopping car usage in old age 18 2.5 The role of self-regulation in old age 19 3. The policy options 20 3.1 Driver licensing 21 3.2 Systematically addressing the impact of road design 25 3.2.1 Locations of older driver risk 26 3.2.2 Reducing older driver crash risk at junctions 26 3.2.3 Roadway curvatures and older driver safety 27 3.2.4 Roadworks and older drivers 28 3.2.5 The role of road markings and road width 28 3.3 Formalising education, training and publicity activity 29 3.4 Using new technologies to deliver safer mobility 30 3.5 Alternative transport and service delivery options 32 3.6 Furthering research in older person mobility 35 4. Conclusions 38 5. References 45 Background paper 1 49 Summary 50 1. Introduction 51 2. Background 52 2.1 Fragility 52 2.2 Casualty rates for car drivers 54 2.3 Risk to other road users 56 2.4 Risk per journey 59 RAC Foundation The role of the private car i Contents 3. Safety of male and female drivers 60 3.1 Casualty rates for car drivers 60 3.2 Trends in car driver casualty rates 62 3.3 Risks to other road users 62 3.4 Risks per journey 63 4. A review of literature on driving licence renewal and the safety of older car drivers 63 4.1 Risk of accident involvement 63 4.2 Licence renewal procedures in Europe 66 5. A case study of seven European countries 68 5.1 Licence renewal procedures 68 5.2 Car ownership and overall road safety 69 5.3 Licence holding 70 5.4 The safety of older drivers 70 5.5 Conclusions on licensing older drivers 75 6. Mobility 75 6.1 Number of journeys and distance travelled 75 6.2 Purposes of travel 75 6.3 Mode of travel 78 6.4 Travel by holders of car driving licences 79 6.5 Driving licences 79 7. Self-regulation 83 8. Highway Design 88 9. Education and training 89 10. Research topics 90 11. References 93 Background paper 2 97 1. Summary of key findings relating to older driver risk and infrastructure 98 1.1 Summary of ‘facts’ 98 1.2 Summary of age-related impairments 98 1.3 Perception Problems 99 1.4 Observation Problems 101 1.5 Cognitive Processing Problems 102 ii Maintaining safe mobility for the ageing population RAC Foundation Contents 2. Introduction 103 2.1 A note on reporting systems 104 3. Government Initiatives 105 3.1 US 105 3.2 UK 106 4. Junctions and the older driver 107 4.1 Type of road and junction control system 115 5. Roadway curvature and overtaking 117 5.1 Roadway marking and delineation 117 5.2 Road width 118 5.3 Curve length and advance signage 119 6. Passing zones and overtaking 125 7. Roadworks 129 8. Coaching Interventions 135 9. Car Design 135 9.1 Intelligent Systems 136 9.2 Ergonomic design 136 9.3 Headlights and glare 137 9.4 Impact reduction 138 10. Conclusions 139 11. Recommendations for future research 141 11.1 Specific research questions identified from the literature 141 11.2 Research recommendations 142 12. References 145 RAC Foundation The role of the private car iii Contents iv Maintaining safe mobility for the ageing population RAC Foundation Foreword Older people are now enjoying more healthy and active retirement years than ever before. Although a welcome development, this social trend provides challenges for policy makers in all areas, not least transport. The population of older drivers is growing particularly rapidly as this group has become accustomed to the mobility afforded by the car. Many have retired to locations that are most easily accessed by the private car and a growing proportion of older people continue to have the resources available to run vehicles. As individuals we worry about our elderly relatives whom we know will be devastated when they are no longer able to drive. We also worry about the day when we too will be without our cars and hence lose the significant benefits they bring: easy access to family, social activities, shopping and health services. Being unable to drive can lead to isolation and increased dependency on the goodwill of others. In turn this may result in health problems and a decline in general well-being. There are also wider social costs: health and social services are more likely to have to make home visits; older pedestrians are particularly vulnerable to serious injury and death; and the extended family support network can start to break down. It is in everybody’s interest that people are encouraged to remain independently mobile as long as they are safe to do so. There is much work to be done to understand how best to achieve this. The three papers in this volume offer a contribution. They demonstrate the dangers of making policy on the basis of anecdote rather than proper analysis. They also illustrate what interventions might be beneficial for older people’s mobility and safety, some of which can be implemented at relatively little cost. These include: giving more attention to the needs of older drivers (and indeed the rest of the driving population) when designing vehicles and road infrastructure; offering positive help, advice and training to older drivers and to those they share the road with; taking greater care with the way the authorities frame and administer the criteria that determines ability to drive; and giving more attention to the alternatives that can be made available when driving a car is no longer possible. In publishing these papers, having discussed their contents with many of the leading experts in the field, the RAC Foundation seeks to promote further research into this rapidly growing issue and hence improve the introduction and implementation of policy. The ultimate aim is to preserve mobility and enhance the general quality of life of this rapidly growing sector of society without compromising safety. There is a great deal to be done. Professor Stephen Glaister CBE Director RAC Foundation RAC Foundation The role of the private car v About this report This collection of papers entitled ‘Maintaining safe mobility for the ageing population: The role of the private car’ was commissioned as a follow-up to the 2009 RAC Foundation report ‘The Car in British Society’, which was awarded the Herbert Crow Memorial Award from the Worshipful Company of Carmen in 2010 for contemporary knowledge- enhancing achievement. The UK, like its European neighbours has an ageing population and the implications of this trend for transport and mobility pose difficult questions for policy. This RAC Foundation report has been developed to inform and encourage debate on the topic of safe mobility in old age in general and the role of the motor car in particular. It is hoped that practitioners and policy makers from a number of disciplines, not only the field of transport, will find the papers useful in both current and future debates on the subject.