“Older drivers are safe drivers”

Staff Reporter NEARLY 15 percent of drivers over the age of 60 years old give up driving because they do not feel safe, according to the results of a survey. The survey carried out by the Mapfre Institute of Road Safety, discovered that 14.6 percent of drivers over 60 in the Balearic Islands no longer want to drive. This figure is higher than the Spanish average of 14.4 percent. The main reasons why older people refrain from driving is down to health factors, such as health problems and recent operations, in particular eye problems, said Juan Buades, Technical Director for Mapfre. The survey questioned 4.005 people living in Spain and the Balearic Islands who are over 60 years old. The results show that older women are more three times more likely to give up driving rather than male drivers. The survey analysed these “uneasy” levels for both drivers and pedestrians over 60 years old. The survey also focussed on discovering why this age group stopped driving, as well as the amount of available information there is to educate older drivers. The head of Mapfre explained that 19.1 percent of pedestrians over the age of 60 in the Balearic Islands are uncomfortable during their walks. In terms of temporary older residents, 25.3 percent feel uncomfortable during their walks. In this respect, the main cause for eldery temporary residents to feel this way whilst walking, is due to health problems, such as poor vision or balance difficulties (73.3 percent). As for actual driving, only 2.9 percent of Balearic residents over the age of 60, feel uneasy behind the steering wheel. This figure is again below the Spanish average, situated at 5.9 percent of eldery drivers. The conclusions of the study state that older drivers and pedestrians need more training and road safety information. This is “an important factor” in helping drivers over 60 years old to increase their perception of feeling safe behind the wheel on public roads, the survey notes. However, the survey found that the level and quality of information available in these matters needs to be improved. The Mapfre Institute is going to hold a campaign called “Older people, healthy people, older people, safe people” in relation to this survey at Cort Ingles supermarket on Avenida Roselló in Palma.