Patrick Rabbitt, Alex Carmichael, Steve Jones and Carol HollandAge and Cognitive Performance Research Centre, University of Manchester
Cost: 35,000
Published: March 1996
In all developed countries the proportion of the population aged over 65 years will markedly increase over the next 20 years and the proportion of older drivers, particularly of older women drivers, will rise even more rapidly. Drivers over 70 have lower accident rates per mile than those under thirty, but slightly higher rates than the safe middle aged and, because they are physically frail, more of these accidents result in serious injury or death. To discover information that may improve the safety and comfort of older drivers and help them to plan the final years of driving, 1680 current drivers aged from 54 to 99 years, and 339 ex-drivers aged from 58 to 101 years described their current status, their driving histories, the difficulties they experienced with driving, their intended future driving careers and their views on possible measures that might be taken to increase their safety.
Respondents were in good physical and mental health for their ages. Ninety-eight per cent complained of visual and auditory problems but, reassuringly, most reported very recent visits to opticians. Most ex-drivers strongly disagreed that they had not given up driving early enough but, worryingly, nearly all drivers said that they had given little or no thought to their possible dates of retirement from driving and implicitly, had not considered adaptations that might improve the safety, comfort and duration of their driving careers. This underlines a need for better public information on how drivers can plan for safety in later life.
Among current drivers, 662 declined to predict any age at which they intended to give up driving - these were referred to in the report as 'Carry On (CO) group' - and 1093 who did specify a retirement age - referred to in the report as 'Give Up (GU) group'. Dates of retirement predicted by GUs varied with current age, from an average of 70 years predicted by 50 year olds to an average of 83 years predicted by those in their late 70s. Most ex-drivers had, in fact, given up at earlier ages than those predicted by current drivers. These cited their main reason for giving up as health problems, feelings of loss of skill in demanding modern traffic conditions and safety considerations. Financial, economic and social factors were relatively unimportant.
Among current drivers the CO group were, in general, slightly older, reported slightly better health, and had more advanced driving qualifications, fewer accidents and convictions and travelled greater weekly mileages than the GU group. Differences between groups thus seemed to reflect attitudes stemming from practice and enjoyment of driving and optimism based on current health and competence. However, both groups reported a similar reduction in driving mileages over the last six years, and showed similar patterns of adaptations to change, driving less in demanding conditions such as rush hours, at night or at dawn and dusk, in city centres and when tired. The most frequent difficulties reported were with vision in reduced illumination, problems in staying alert over long periods, glare, dividing attention while driving and problems with parking. It is worrying that scenarios prominent in accident statistics, such as failure to judge gaps in traffic or speed of oncoming traffic and to turn efficiently or pull out into traffic, seemed to pass unnoticed.
When considering measures to improve safety of older drivers most respondents felt that compulsory re-tests after any driving ban or conviction would be both acceptable and effective, but found automatic compulsory re-testing unacceptable. Most supported the current legal obligation for drivers to report disabilities to DVLA, but also felt that GPs and opticians should be obliged to notify the disabilities of their patients. Most felt that provision of information for older drivers was desirable, but were uncertain that this would be effective. Most respondents said that they would take very seriously comments on changes in their driving ability from GPs, opticians, courts, police, the DVLA or friends and acquaintances whose opinions they valued. In comparison, advice from family members would have much less influence.
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