The Older Drivers Forum are supporting the Project EDWARD week of action, themed ‘Fit for the Road’ between the 13th to 17th September 2021.
Project EDWARD stands for 'Every Day Without A Road Death’ and is an annual UK-wide road safety campaign backed by the government, emergency services, highways agencies, road safety organisations and British businesses.
Shockingly, on average 5 people a day are killed and around 150,000 people are injured each year on roads in Great Britain. Unfortunately, 20% of all deaths on our roads are older people.
As older licence holders are increasing every year, fatalities for drivers aged 70 and over are forecasted to increase by 22% by 2040.
The Older Drivers Forum is about keeping mature motorists on the road safely for longer. They recognise that older motorists have a wealth of experience, confidence and tolerance. However, their sight, hearing, reaction time and judgement of speed and distance may not be as sharp as it once was.
The Forum is a not-for-profit organisation made up of experts in road safety – from representatives from the emergency services, to charities, local authorities and businesses specialising in keeping older people on the road.
The chair and founder of the Older Drivers Forum, Rob Heard, said “We are excited and proud to support Project Edwards quest to make the roads safer for all.
"We can all become complacent about our driving and often pick up bad habits, which if not addressed can increase our risk of an incident on the roads.
"This week of webinars will help give advice on a number of subjects from confidence-building appraisals, safe driving tips, electric vehicles and driving with various medical conditions.
"We have a special webinar on Thursday afternoon hosted by Valerie Singleton OBE on Dashcams, which is one not to miss. We have 1000 free places, so make sure you book early to reserve your place.
"I am looking forward to welcoming you again to our webinars. We have had great feedback from previous ones we have run."
The webinars are completely free and have expert speakers as well as participants being able to ask questions.
People will need to register their place for each webinar, which can be done by clicking here.
