A project targeting older drivers, launched in June 2007 by Devon County Council and Devon and Cornwall Constabulary, is said to be going from strength to strength.
‘Driving Safer For Longer’ aims to keep people driving more safely and for longer, by making them aware of the problems and issues facing them as they get older, and recognising when might be the right time to retire from driving.
More than 8,000 information packs have been distributed through libraries and doctors’ surgeries, with numerous people booking a practical driving skills’ assessment after reading the pack.
The project also includes an informal safe driving workshop covering modern driving and looking at the common causations of collisions involving older drivers.
Nigel Flower, RSO, says: “The workshops were the hardest part of the project to get off the ground. But now we are running on average one every week across the county. The workshops have become the heart of the project - they produce a constant demand for the practical driving skills assessments.”
