According to Autoadapt, currently about 500.000 of the 30 million licensed drivers in the U.K. are over 65, and the number is expected to grow in the years ahead. It appears that by 2020, people of 50 and over will comprise half the adult population.
The public and policymakers are therefore expressing a growing concern that the nation's roads and motorways are filled with greater numbers of older drivers.The Autoadapt DTS reportedly allows a fast judgement of client’s car, the adaptation needs or the capability to use a hand control.
It is designed as a tool to help the therapist, or the person making the prescription, to perform a qualified test of a person’s abilities as a driver, concerning strength, flexibility, behaviour and reaction time.
Moreover, the UK drivers could face health tests every ten years. Although nothing is yet official, these tests will concern an eyesight check and the reaction times of the drivers, two essential things when being behind the wheel.
However, these concerns are contradicted by a study made by the Insurance Institute For Highway Safety, which states that older people are less involved in fatal car crashes.
Apparently that is because unlike younger drivers, people who reach 80 tend to plan their journeys during daytime and avoid driving at night, don't travel on interstate highways, drive fewer times and shorter distances and don't use their car when there's ice on the road or when it's snowing.
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