We are pleased to announce that our chair, Rob Heard was awarded an MBE for Road Safety and particularly for his Older Drivers work in the 2025 New Years Honours List.

Following the release of the list Rob said: ‘I feel humbled to be given this MBE and I wish to dedicate it to all the families and persons who have lost their lives due to Road Traffic Collisions. Every day nearly 5 people lose their lives on UK Roads, and many are avoidable’. 

‘In my 30 years’ service as a Police Officer I dealt with and attended over 100 fatalities and I truly saw the devastation it caused to all involved. The last 5 years of my Police Service I was the Road Safety Sergeant for Hampshire and Thames Valley Police. I saw how raising awareness can help save lives and the smallest action can make a massive difference. Life is a gift, and we need to value ours as well as the lives of others. Acting safely on the roads is one way we can show this’. 

Shortly after the list was announced Rob appeared on BBC Radio Solent and the interview can be heard by clicking here

Rob continues: ‘Since retirement from the Police, I now work as a Road Safety Consultant specialising in Mature and Older Drivers. Following several fatal and serious collisions involving older drivers, I saw more needed to be done to be done to support this vulnerable road group’.

‘We have an ageing population, and the number of older drivers (70 and above) is increasing by 250,000 every year. We all age differently, we have drivers in their 40’s who are no longer fit to drive and drivers in their late 90’s and early hundreds who are perfectly fit to drive’.

‘Whilst mature and older drivers have a wealth of experience, confidence and tolerance, sight, hearing, reaction time and judgement of speed and distance may not be as sharp as they once were’.  

‘A car is a lethal weapon, and we all have a responsibility to make sure we are fit and healthy to drive and know when the right time is to retire from driving. By not being complacent and undertaking a few basic checks and reviews on our driving we all will be able to carry on driving safely for longer’.

‘As a result, I wrote a research paper on what we can do to support and protect ageing drivers and identified a three-pronged approach to support driving into later age’. 

‘The first prong was about raising awareness and in 2013, I set up and still chair the Older Drivers Forum. The Older Drivers Forum is a not-for-profit organisation run by volunteers to support mature and older motorists on how to continue driving safely for longer. We have a national website giving advice www.olderdriversforum.com. The website not only gives advice and support to mature and older drivers, but also family and friends.’

 ‘The second prong is about encouraging drivers to undertake mature driver assessments and undertake regular eyesight testing with an optician or optometrist. I am currently chairing a committee trialling a voluntary standardised mature confidence building assessment in five areas across the country. For those who have a medical condition that may affect their ability to drive, we signpost them to a local Driving Mobility centre for an assessment with specially qualified driving instructors and occupational therapists.’

 ‘Just recently I ran with Eye Health UK a Vision and Driving Campaign supporting the National Roads Policing Operations, Intelligence and Investigations (NRPOII) campaign called ‘Dark Night’. The campaign encouraged all Police Forces over a two-week period to undertake roadside eyesight testing at every opportunity. The results were surprising, and a report can be found here: www.VisionAndDriving.info’

 ‘The third prong was when people do become complacent. They may do nothing to ensure that they are safe behind the wheel and can come to the Police’s attention by a careless driving offence. As a result, along with Driving Mobility, I set up the Police Fitness to Drive Assessment as an alternative to prosecution for careless driving. The assessment will identify if a driver is safe, unsafe or needs some lessons to bring them back to safe driving. This scheme we started in 2013 and now have 18 Police Forces running the scheme and many more about to start. The results from the assessments have really made a difference and I am confident has saved many lives.’

 ‘I will continue to be passionate about Road Safety and hope this brings some comfort to those involved in collisions and that by working with people we can make a difference and save more lives.’

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary Chief Constable Scott Chilton said: “This is a well deserved honour for Rob. His passion for road safety was a real asset to us as a force throughout his policing career and this continued after he retired in 2019. He is rightly being recognised for his efforts in keeping our roads safe and supporting older drivers. Congratulations!”

Edward Trewhella, CEO of Driving Mobility, adds: “This official recognition of Rob’s trailblazing attitude to road safety is to be commended. His level of commitment to reducing risk on the roads always reflects our own values and ethos. Rob has, and will always be, a valued partner in our proposition. Well done Rob Heard MBE!”