Venue and date: Royal Society of Arts, London, 19 November 1993
To mark the European Year of Older People and Solidarity between Generations, the AA Foundation hosted a major conference in London on 19 November 1993, which looked at how to promote the independence and mobility of older road users. It focused on the problems faced by all senior citizens - pedestrians, cyclists, motorists and those who use public transport.
Central to the theme of the conference was the official estimate that the number of elderly motorists in Britain is set to climb from 7 million in 1993 to around 16 million by 2030.
Speakers, who are listed below, presented papers on the effects of this dramatic increase and how they needed to be handled. The then Minister of State for Public Transport, Roger Freeman MP, gave the keynote speech and the event was attended by 200 guests drawn from central and local government, research and professional institutions.
Setting the scene
The role of government
The Rt Hon Roger Freeman MP
Minister of State for Public Transport
AA Foundation research programme and its application
Barbara Sabey ISO
Technical Advisor to the AA Foundation
Growing older, wish to travel
Philip Bly, PhD
Research Director, Transport Research Laboratory
Traffic accidents and other accidents
Andrew Evans PhD
London Transport Professor of Transport Safety, University College and Imperial College London
The role of the professions
The role of town and country planning
Peter Headicar MSc (Eng)
Reader in Transport Planning
School of Planning, Oxford Brookes University
The role of highway engineering
Michael Kendrick CEng
Director of Planning and Transportation, Northamptonshire County Council
The role of health education
Sir Donald Maitland GCMG OBE
Chairman, Health Education Authority
The role of the doctor
James Bevan BA MB BChir
The role of the bus planner
David Bayliss OBE
Director of Planning, London Transport
Consumers' needs
Older people, their independence and mobility
Lady Sally Greengross OBE
Director, Age Concern England
Summary
Sir Peter Baldwin KCB
erstwhile Chairman
AA Foundation for Road Safety Research
The report of the proceedings is available from the AA Foundation and copies of the individual presentations are available free of charge from the same source.
A direct result of this conference was a contract with the University of Manchester for a study into when and why older drivers give up driving (FDN17).
In addition, the working group of the AA, the Medical Commission on Accident Prevention (MCAP) and the AA Foundation reconvened with the intention of issuing revised advice to older drivers, doctors, opticians and others closely involved with the elderly on assessing whether it might be appropriate to give up driving.
An advice leaflet for Older Driver entitled "Getting there safely" was produced in 1999.
Back to the AA Foundation Research Briefings
