Education in school or in community organizations

“Safety and mobility” expert meeting organized by the Croatian Automobile Club on the occasion of the European Mobility Week

On the occasion of the European Mobility Week, the Croatian Automobile Club hosted the “Safety and Mobility“ expert meeting, which was held on Tuesday, 19 September 2023.

Skanowanie 3D w badaniach wypadków drogowych

This article presents the issues of documentation of traffic accidents using 3D scanning and the practical experience of the authors of this article in its use at the accident scene and subsequent data processing. In particular, the various conditions under which documentation can be performed and the solution of some practical problems related to the use of 3D scanners are described.

Happy Trails for the Road Safety Authority as Seatbelt Sheriff saddles up to deliver awards

The Road Safety Authority has announced the winners of its annual Seatbelt Sheriff Awards which celebrate the dedication and creative ideas of primary school children to keep themselves, their friends and their loved ones safe on our roads.

The Seatbelt Sheriff Awards are now in their 19th year, and while it’s not their first rodeo, this year marks the first year that the Seatbelt Sheriff galloped off into the sunset to deliver the awards in person to the winning schools.

29th National Competition “Stay Safe in Traffic”

The national competition “Stay Safe in Traffic” was held in Zadar, Croatia from the 23rd until the 25th of May. During the 29th consecutive competition the fifth- and sixth-grade students showed their knowledge of traffic regulations and rules, as well as their cycling skills.

Friday, May 26, 2023 - 11:12
In Belgium, as in Europe and large parts of the Western world, life expectancy is ever increasing. While this "aging" is made possible by very comprehensive preventive or curative health care, this certainly does not eliminate all the cognitive or motor impairments associated with aging. In addition, older people are also becoming increasingly mobile, and more specifically, they are using their own vehicle or car up to a higher age.

As people age, two risks that are often used in the context of road safety become important:
- Accident risk: the likelihood to be involved in an accident.
- Injury risk: the likelihood of injury, given an accident has occurred.

With this product, the senior selftest, we focus on the triggers for accident risk with senior drivers.

Safe participation in traffic, in the context of an ageing population, presupposes two things: "driving skills" and "fitness to drive". Driving skills are strongly linked to learning processes, gaining experience, vehicle control and traffic insight. Fitness to drive has more to do with the physical and mental abilities of the driver: health, sensory and cognitive abilities, influence of alcohol, drugs or medication, etc.

Older road users usually have a very extensive mobility and traffic experience, and associated with that generally overall good driving skills. However, as drivers age, some of the mental and/or physical capacities needed to put those skills to good use gradually decrease. In other words, fitness to drive decreases. Examples are: reduced vision (sharpness, night blindness, etc.), poor hearing, higher reaction times, reduced muscle control or muscle strength, etc.

This decline in capacities is likely to proceed in two speeds. For most people it can be expected that this is a gradual process, which may also be partially absorbable or slowed down. Barring sudden illness and accidents, the decline in physical or mental functionality is a process of several decades. However, when looking at the oldest age categories, it can be expected that a quicker decrease in physical or mental functionality occurs as a result of (a higher likelihood of) more grave illnesses.

Although road users compensate for this natural decline in capacities to some extent (e.g. by driving less at night, driving slower, etc.), there is still a general risk that one's own skills and fitness to drive will be overestimated, or that a decline in skills and suitability will eventually go too fast. In other words, if a self-regulating compensation mechanism is used, it may not be enough to continue to drive “safely”. Different supporting measures need to be developed if we wish senior drivers to truly remain independently safely mobile.

With the Selftest we present a product that aims at increasing awareness with senior drivers on the importance of psycho-cognitive factors and their own capacities in relation to accident risk, and therefor safe and comfortable driving.

The Selftest, its development and use is described in the paragraph “project activities”.
The relevance towards improving road safety, compared to other actions taken to support safe driving by senior drivers, is described in the paragraph “evaluation”
13 May 2023 10:00 – 10:00
auditorium of the Transport and Communications Directorate of the Athens Central Regional Unit
Greece
Subscribe to Education in school or in community organizations