New police scheme to help keep older drivers safe
OLDER drivers are being urged to use a new police partnership scheme to stay safe on the road for longer, after a Hampshire pensioner nearly died after accidentally reversing into a body of water.
The 70-year-old from Southampton – who was later diagnosed with vascular dementia – was driving around the New Forest for several hours in February, before he tried to complete a turn and accidentally reversed down a boat launch where he plunged into the water.
He was rescued by nearby residents, who pulled him from the water, and he was taken to hospital for a checkup.
Now police are urging older drivers and their families to use The Older Drivers Forum, which supports people to stay on the roads.
Sergeant Nick Tucker said: ‘With the support of this driver and his family we wanted to highlight this incident to show the real life implications of growing older and driving. He surrendered his driving licence with dignity. It is lucky that he did not lose his life that evening.’
‘We work closely with The Older Drivers Forum whose work is all about keeping mature motorists on the road safely for longer. Whether that’s helping by giving practicalandinformativehelpand support to continue driving or pointing people in the right direction for an assessment to identify their driving needs, the Forum’s here to help and signpost you to the people to help.
‘The Forum is a not-forprofit organisation made up of experts in road safety – from representatives from the emergency services, to charities, and businesses.’
More information can be found at olderdriversforum. com.