Old Story: TRL Explains No New Evidence to Suggest Older Drivers a High-Risk Group
Industry: Transportation & Logistics
TRL uses evidence to explain how older drivers are one of the safest groups on the roads
Wokingham (PRUnderground) January 21st, 2019
News about the Duke’s collision last week has ignited debate about older driver safety once again. According to TRL, what the evidence in this area shows is that older drivers as a cohort are one of the safest groups on the roads, especially in comparison to young drivers.
There is significant evidence in this area to show that:
1. Cognitive, physical and visual decline is heterogeneous; restricting driving based on chronological age has been shown to be an ineffective countermeasure.
2. Older drivers are generally good at self-regulating their driving to avoid the most challenging situations (e.g. driving at night or in poor weather conditions); this is, according to evidence, likely to be one of the most effective ways to manage driving at older ages.
3. Driving cessation – when too early or unwarranted – can have a serious negative impact on mental health and well-being (as a result of limiting social exposure and independence).
Of course, there is always work that can be done to reduce the number of older drivers involved in collisions. Increasing accessibility to self-assessment tools to help drivers and their families make assessments on when it may be time to stop driving is a good start. Similarly, increasing mobility options can slowly help shift at-risk drivers to safer modes of travel, whilst supporting their social needs.
Some of TRL’s work in this area linked below:
To find out more about TRL’s work to improve safety for older drivers and how it is helping to shape a future that includes shared mobility, either through commentary or a briefing with Kristen Fernández Medina, please contact Andy Parker on andy@kredoconsulting.com.
About TRL
TRL is a global centre for innovation in transport and mobility. It provides world-leading research, technology and software solutions for surface transport modes and related markets engaged in intelligent, new mobility innovations.
Independent from government, industry and academia, TRL helps organisations create global transport systems that are safe, clean, affordable, liveable and efficient.
Established in 1933 within the British Government as the UK\’s Transport Research Laboratory, TRL was subsequently privatised in 1996. Today, TRL has more than 1,000 clients across 145 countries, driving positive societal and economic benefit worldwide.
Core areas of expertise include: infrastructure asset management & asset technologies; intelligent transport systems & traffic operations; sustainability & healthy mobility; vehicle safety engineering & technology research; major incident investigations; human factors safety & behavioural science.
TRL is strategically investing, producing disruptive research and delivering innovation linked to:
• Connected & self-driving vehicles
• Ultra-low emission technologies
• Shared mobility services
• Intelligent asset information
• Big data, machine learning & artificial intelligence.
Head-quartered in the UK, nearly 1/3rd of TRL’s business is with overseas organisations. Its international focus covers Europe, India, Africa & Middle East, plus wider Commonwealth countries, supported by strategic collaborations in North America and Asia Pacific.
More information can be found at: www.trl.co.uk
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