New national Older Drivers web site

Posted on February 9, 2016 by olderdriversforum

Following the great success of our web site in Hampshire and Isle of Wight we identified a need for a national Older Drivers web site to give advice and support to all nationally. We have therefore worked with RoSPA to offer help and support in creating a National Web site called ‘Older Drivers’. As you can see it uses the same logo design as ours. Our web site will remain as we offer local information and news to our area, however we may cut down some bits to avoid repetition. Why not explore the new national web site at www.olderdrivers.org.uk

The aim of the website is to help older people to continue to drive for as long as they are safe to do so, and to provide advice on making the decision to retire from driving if an individual is no longer able to drive safely.

One of the functions of the website is to signpost people to driver assessment providers in their area. The user can click on the map, or the list of areas, click here to see this map and find courses covering the whole country.

Older Drivers Forum on BBC One Show

Posted on December 8, 2015 by olderdriversforum

On Wednesday 9th December the BBC One Show will feature the Older Drivers Forum hosting an event in Fleet. The event was attended by Jennie Bond and John Sergeant who both went out on a Driving Appraisal to brush up their skills with the Hampshire County Council ‘Driver Skills 60+’ programme. Jennie and John really found the appraisal benefited them to become happier and safer drivers.

Graham Mylward from Hampshire County Council conducted Jennie’s and John’s appraisal and will be appearing on the One Show as well.

If you would like to undertake an appraisal, then visit our courses page to find the right one for your needs.

Sgt Rob Heard with Jennie Bond and John Sergeant

Graham Mylward with Jennie Bond and John Sergeant

Older Drivers Forum gets Nationally recognised

Posted on December 8, 2015 by olderdriversforum

Hampshire Older Drivers Forum Highly Commended in Prince Michael International Road Safety Awards

On Tuesday 8th December at the International Road Safety awards ceremony at the Savoy Hotel in London, the Hampshire Older Drivers Forum was highly commended for its contribution to improving Road Safety and awarded a Commendation Certificate by His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent.

Sgt Rob Heard, Hampshire Constabulary, the founder and chair of the Older Drivers Forum, accepted the certificate on behalf of the Forum from Prince Michael of Kent, together with Simon Gomer, the Safer Roads Manager for Hampshire Constabulary

Receiving Commendation

Sgt Rob Heard says ‘I am extremely proud that the great work of the forum has been recognised internationally. We need to embrace and celebrate the older generation and support those who wish to continue driving with practical, informative advice on how to drive safely for longer, but also give advice when it is time to retire from driving. We know that older motorists have a wealth of experience, confidence and tolerance. However, sight, hearing, reaction time and judgement of speed and distance may not be as sharp as it once was.
Fragility increases with age, so injuries tend to be more serious and recovery takes much longer. Casualty rates do increase for car drivers aged over about 65, and the fatality rate increases significantly.’

‘That’s where we come in. The Older Drivers Forum is about keeping mature motorists on the road safely for longer. Whether that’s helping giving that practical and informative help to continue driving or pointing you in the right direction for an assessment to identify your driving needs – from wing mirror adapters to an elevated driving seat – we’re here to help. We’re a not-for-profit organisation made up of experts in road safety from across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight – from representatives from the emergency services, to charities, local authorities and businesses specialising in keeping older people on the road.’

‘We’ve a number of stakeholders that all have a vital role in contributing towards helping the mature person stay safer on the roads. Special thanks needs to go to Hampshire County Council who run an appraisal for drivers called ‘Driver skills 60+’ and also special thanks to Wessex DriveAbility, a local Driving Mobility Centre, who carry out adaption and ‘Fitness to Drive’ assessments for drivers and passengers who need specialist support for often medical conditions.’

Hampshire’s Older Drivers Forum has been recognised nationally with a lot of it’s ideas and work rolling out across the country. Sgt Rob Heard is now a member of the National Older Drivers Task Force where he is chair of a committee looking at Self help and support for Older Drivers. The Older Drivers Task Force is due to submit a report to the government by mid 2016 with it’s recommendations.

Older Drivers Forum Chair gets National award

Posted on January 19, 2015 by olderdriversforum

Sgt Rob Heard – Chair of Older Drivers Forum – with Hampshire Chief Constable Andy Marsh

It is with great pride that we announce that our Older Drivers Forum chair, Sgt Rob Heard, has after years of dedication to keeping the people of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight safe on our roads has been awarded the ACPO and Police Federation Outstanding Contribution to Roads Policing Award 2014.

Rob, who has worked within the Roads Policing Unit for 22 years and is currently the force lead on road safety, was presented with the award on Thursday night (January 15) in recognition of his work creating and establishing the Older Drivers Forum.

Chief Constable Andy Marsh said: “I am very proud of the work Rob has done in helping to keep older drivers stay on the road, safely”.

“At some stage, we ourselves will be older drivers, and most of us know older drivers now. This forum and its website are a fantastic resource to help inform and reassure. This award is very well deserved recognition.”

The Older Drivers Forum was set up in 2013 with the aim of keeping older drivers safely on the roads for longer, and helping relatives and carers deal with the issues that can be associated with older drivers.

The forum was Rob’s idea, and he has worked tirelessly to liaise with partner agencies including local authorities, health, Age Concern and Age UK, Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, Forum of Mobility Centres and Institute of Advance Motorists to co-ordinate its many activities and support services.

“It is basically about raising awareness of the services available to drivers aged 60 plus to help keep them driving safely for longer, and to encourage people to have regular eye-sight tests and, especially, take voluntary assessments to help build confidence and understand whether they remain fit to drive”.

“The forum can also provide assessments to check, following a collision, whether a person is safe or not to continue and, where appropriate, signpost refresher training. There are currently just over four million people aged 70 and above driving on the UK’s roads, the oldest person to hold a driving licence is a man aged 106″.

“Research predicts that, with people living longer, these numbers will double if not treble in the next 20 years”.

“I feel greatly honoured to have received this award. It feels a bit like winning an Oscar in the roads policing world. I would like to dedicate this award to Neil Colquhoun and his mother Patricia, who were the inspiration behind the creation of the forum”.

“Neil tragically died in a collision in 2011 when an 89-year-old man drove the wrong way for over a mile along the A30 at Old Basing. His car collided head-on with Neil’s. Neil died at the scene and our investigation found that the 89-year-old man was blind in one eye and below the legal eyesight limit in the other. However, he felt he was genuinely fit to drive. From that, we came up with the idea of the forum, and we hope by doing so we can prevent another tragedy like this. We are not about taking people off the road – we are about trying to help people keep their independence and carry on driving safely, for longer.”

In the 18 months since it was established, the forum’s website has had in excess of 20,000 hits and is used as a resource nationally. It has also run two weeks of awareness events across both counties which have been attended by more than 1000 people.

Rob is also now a national lead on older driver issues and is helping the Department for Transport and Road Safety Foundation develop national strategy in this growing area.