16/11/2001 - Policies targeting the safety of elderly road users need a rethink, according to a new OECD report. While older drivers tend to be safer than commonly believed, causing fewer crashes per capita or per number of motorists than other age groups, older people are also more vulnerable to injury or death. Without new policies in areas ranging from supporting and assessing older drivers to developing safer roads, vehicles and infrastructure, the number of elderly road users injured or killed in crashes is likely to rise.
Ageing and Transport: Mobility Needs and Safety Issues quotes figures from the UK showing that only six out of every 1000 male drivers in the 65-74 age group were involved in a crash in 1998. The corresponding rate for drivers in the 25-34 age group, at 21 per 1000, is more than three times greater. Among 35-44 year-olds, the crash rate was 16 per 1000; in the 45-54-age bracket 12 per 1000, and among 55-64 year-olds 10 per 1000. But while the crash rate for older drivers is often lower than for younger drivers, fatality rates tell a different story. Data from the United States show that the number of road deaths among motorists aged 65 or more in 1997 was 12.7 per 100,000 people in this age group compared to 10.3 for 25-64 year-olds.
Action to address this challenge is needed now, given the cost of implementing new policies. By 2030, one person in four in OECD countries will be aged 65 or over, putting pressure on public funds in a number of areas. By encouraging "lifelong mobility" the OECD says, governments can enhance old people's independence and quality of life while benefiting from lower public health and program costs.
Rather than imposing mandatory driving tests once people reach a certain age, the OECD recommends community-based assessments involving doctors, police and social services, as well as the family and friends of older drivers. At the same time, the report argues the need for a better approach to assessing and responding to the disabilities that can hamper safe driving.
As the number of elderly people in developed countries increases, more and more are likely to want to continue driving cars as their main means of transport. To ensure they can do so safely, the report recommends changes in vehicle design, including improved access to seat belts to encourage greater use among older people with physical restrictions, and improved safety features to protect occupants, pedestrians and cyclists. Cars must be made easier for older people to drive, while roads and pavements should be better adapted to the needs of the elderly. Public transport systems suited to older passengers must also be developed as alternatives to the private car.
Journalists may obtain this report from the
OECD Media Relations Division.
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For further information, journalists are invited to contact
Stephen Di Blasio
in the OECD's Media Relations Division (tel. [33] 1 45 24 81 03).
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"Ageing and Transport. Mobility Needs and Safety Issues"
132 pages, OECD, Paris 2001
Electronic version available (pdf)
€45; FF295.18; US$40; DM88.01
ISBN 92-64-19666-8 (77 01 05 1)
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