Older Drivers Forum raise awareness of dangers facing elderly drivers on Gloucestershire roads
37% of road deaths in Gloucestershire over last 5 years were older drivers
Gloucestershire's Older Drivers Forum is raising awareness around the issues facing elderly road users in the county.
They are a not-for-profit organisation that consists of road safety experts and volunteers, who create awareness and provide practical advice for elderly road users and their families.
In the past five years, 37% of road fatalities in Gloucestershire were older drivers which is a statistic the forum is determined to change.
Their mission? To keep mature motorists on the road safely, for longer.
Gloucestershire has many rural roads which pose the biggest danger to drivers with 60% of deaths occurring on them in England.
Nigel Lloyd-Jones, co-founder of the Older Drivers Forum said:
"In the older driver age group this statistic goes up to 72% so we clearly have an issue their historically.
"Gloucestershire has a huge ageing population - with the percentage of pensioners in the Cotswolds higher than the national average so this is also a major concern."
The coronavirus pandemic has also been a huge issue for elderly road users. Although they may not be using their cars as frequently, their awareness of the roads may have dropped when they do.
Nigel added:
"But when they do go out their road senses are dulled and they're not as alert as they should be.
"So we're very concerned about the additional risk Covid is bringing to them".
As well as rural roads, junctions also pose a huge danger to older drivers with 50% of all older driver fatalities take place at T-junctions.
A driver's cognitive and physical mobility declines as they grow older which makes them less able to turn their neck to look for oncoming traffic and judge the speed of oncoming vehicles.
The Gloucestershire Older Drivers Forum has now begun holding regular webinars for people looking to find out information on how to keep their elderly loved ones safe.
Nigel said: "It's all about how to start that conversation around someone's fitness to drive.
"They also provide a range of information on driving mobility, vehicle suitability and route planning.
"We really want to unlock the social taboo around this subject, it's a very emotive on and we're striving to help normalise it within families."
The next webinar being held by the Older Drivers Forum is on Saturday 23rd January 2021. More details can be found on their website.
The forum are looking to look at new areas of life which also may affect older drivers, such as dementia.
They have now partnered with The Forest of Dean dementia friendly community who are leading a Dementia Association in the county.
They will be working alongside them to develop content around dementia in older drivers.
Last year Gloucestershire's Police and Crime Commissioner, Martin Surl, also gave his support to The Older Drivers Forum by offering them a grant of £10,000.
PCC Martin Surl said:
“I am pleased to announce ten thousand pounds support from the Police Crime Commissioner’s fund for the Older Drivers Forum for Gloucestershire.
"Their activities will be a valuable resource for two of my key Police and Crime plan priorities; ‘Safe and Social Driving’ and ‘Older but not Overlooked’. The Older Drivers Forum will save lives.”