Adam, ADI

Introduction

I attended the Mature Driver’s Conference organised by Road Safety GB in Birmingham on Tuesday 28th April 2026.

Maintaining Independence

As an ADI, I think it’s important to keep up-to-date about industry changes of the incredible research and development within this demographic that is continually taking place because of our ageing population.

The conference covered the following areas:

  • Vision
  • Dementia
  • Diabetes
  • Neurological & cardiovascular conditions
  • Reduced mobility, strength, and flexibility
  • Cognitive decline
  • Planning ahead for retiring from driving

The last point is particularly important, given the risks of lost status, reduced independence, and social isolation, all of which can contribute to depression.

How To Do This

Road Safety GB offers a specific course aimed at being able to assist and instructing mature drivers, which I attended. It’s online and a two-part course. Interestingly, some employed or self-employed workers fall into that category.

The conference also explored how best to help those who wish to continue driving by offering insightful and educational suggestions for making lessons enjoyable while covering the safety aspects of this age range.

This could be things such as slower reaction time for hazards, vision, e.g. cataracts, glaucoma and possibly regular/mandatory eyesight checks from the age of 70+.

We looked at recent advances in in-car technology and how these could possibly make driving safer for us all, and planning with focus groups about when might be a good time to retire from driving, especially as we’re often reactive in our decisions.

Some Key Points

A key point from the conference that may be overlooked is to recommend to older drivers that they share driving with their partner, otherwise their driving skills may become somewhat limited. In the future, there may well be a need for them to drive, which could lead to added pressure on them.

Another key point I took away is how to help older drivers make informed decisions by empowering, supporting, and reassuring them.

Takeaways

I recommend attending next year and will finish by citing one lovely example as told by Dr. Any Varshney about a group of older gentlemen, who Professor Charles Musselwhite worked with and a question to ponder.

Professor Musselwhite worked with a group of older gentlemen living in/around Swansea who retired from driving and saw the positives of it. They regularly decided to meet at a bus stop in the Swansea area and would shake a dice, whichever number the dice landed on would dictate which bus they would all take and have a day out!

To wrap things up, I will leave you a thought to ponder

As things stand, a person that passes their driving test at 17 can currently drive for 53 years before needing to renew their license at 70.

With this in mind, what will it be like to drive in 2079??

Adam
ADI

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