Should older drivers be screened?

Not according to a new position paper from the European Federation of Psychologists' Associations, which concludes that age based population screening is not only 'ethically questionable, but actually has greater economic costs than benefits for society, particularly when the proportion of the older population is increasing'.
They claim that firstly older drivers generally do not have more accidents and secondly, according to research literature, aged based population screening does not produce the desired safety benefits. Indeed, they argue that screening tends to take drivers who have never had an accident off the roads. "These people potentially lose their independent mobility for no reason. This is a serious issue as mobility has been linked to quality of life and psychological health'.


So what does Age UK have to say about this and of course our politicians? Abandoning screening would save considerable amounts with minimum social costs according to these studies.

Older drivers safest in icy weather

Another plus of being 50+!


Insurance claims by over 50s drivers are actually DOWN 17% this December, compared with the same time last year, Saga Motor Insurance can reveal.
It seems that older motorists are heeding the warnings to stay off the roads in bad weather.  As AA statistics show that motorists in general are making twice as many claims as normal due to the bad weather, this must be younger drivers, because Saga's experience shows that older motorists are having fewer accidents this year.
Saga Director-General Ros Altmann commented: "It is really encouraging that older motorists are using their experience and planning around the bad weather to ensure they are not out on the roads in the ice and snow."

Over 50's love driving gadgets..

...according to new research by Saga Motor Insurance. Far from being afraid of trying out new gadgets, the baby boomer generation believe they help them to be better drivers.

As you would expect from the safest group of drivers on the road, the over 50s tend only to value gadgets that improve their safety or enhance their driving experience such as Sat Nav systems (32%) and cruise control (20%) and are much less likely than younger motorists to have distracting devices such as iPods and Blackberries or Smartphones in the car with them.

Over 50s also prove to be the most responsible when it comes to using hand held mobiles in the car.  Just one in ten (12%) of the over 50s say they have used a handheld mobile while driving since it became illegal in 2003, this is compared to over a quarter (28%) of those under 50 and a third (33%) of 18-34 year olds.  What is perhaps even more worrying is the 22% of 18-34s who text while driving and 2% of all motorists who admit to emailing behind the wheel.

The survey has also found that some drivers find gadgets designed to aid driving a distraction.  A third of all drivers (31%) said they find hands free mobile technology distracting and 35% also said sat nav systems were off-putting.

So you now have total permission to go and buy some new toys!