The percentage of the older population in relation to the younger population is growing in Europe. The ageing population is increasingly diverse with regard to age, socio economy, health and household structure. In addition, the majority of the older population is female. The percentage of women rises with age to above 60 percent for those aged 80 and over. While household structure and income of the older generation differs greatly within Europe, we find an overall increase of single-person households, especially for older women. Against this background, this report provides a concise state-of-the-art review of what is currently known about the growing number of older road users in terms of mobility and safety. The main difference between this report and others in this field is its focus on the heterogeneity of the older population and the inclusion of new findings from relevant fields of basic research. In Chapter 3, the issue of ageing and transport will be introduced through a review of recent research on senior mobility and safety. The review focuses on well-being implications of mobility, senior travel patterns and preferences, car driving, and safety. The general conclusions are as follows: While older persons travel less than younger persons generally, there is a notable increase in travel activities, licensing rates and car access for the older population during the last decades. It can be expected that in the future, older persons will be more mobile and car-reliant. In terms of safety, the chief hazard to older road users relates to those that are unprotected — pedestrians and cyclists. Older drivers, on the other hand, have an enviable safety record, and the fact that this occurs in the face of increasing levels of age-related disease and disability, which might affect driving ease and safety, is a potent metaphor for the gains of ageing, whereby wisdom and strategic thinking compensate for these deficits. Many older persons, especially older women, choose to cease driving prematurely. This may lead to unwarranted mobility loss. The current research advises against any measures that may encourage older drivers to give up driving too early, such as age-based mandatory driver screening. Chapter 4 focuses on the heterogeneity of the older population. Certain subgroups are of special interest here, namely those which are growing (oldest old, older women and persons in single households), those which appear especially disadvantaged and at risk of social exclusion (e.g. low income groups, rural residents), and those for which both criteria apply (e.g. ethnical minorities). Results, which are based on a systematic literature review, are provided for each sub-group separately with regard to mobility and safety. Knowledge on gender and mobility has increased in the last few years, for example with regard to women’s dependency on others, reasons and consequences of driving cessation, and (unfulfilled) mobility needs. It has been found that older women in particular tend to give up driving too early, often because they lack confidence or are discouraged by their husbands or licence policies. Increasing women’s confidence and experience in driving is thus identified as a way to keep older women safe and mobile. In several studies reviewed in this report, interactions of female gender and other socio-demographic variables have been found, showing that lower income or living in a single-person-household has different implications for women and men. The effects of gender, income and household structure should be examined further in future research to come to less controversial results as found in the existing literature. Mobility options and traffic safety also vary considerably between different regions. The on-going urbanization leaves rural areas worse-off in terms of services and public transportation, which increases the car dependency of seniors residing in these areas. On the other hand, urbanization means that an increasing number of persons are growing old in urban environments, which puts pressure on the urban planning and development of age friendly cities, transport and mobility services. Perceived danger is a concern especially of residents of high-density urban areas and in the growing groups of older women, the oldest old and ethnical minorities. However, studies on mobility and migration background are very limited in Europe. The situation gets even worse with respect to older people’s mobility. As a first step, the respective variables should be integrated in national travel surveys like those already practised in the UK. Besides descriptive results, more in-depth research on cultural effects on travel behaviour and effects of travel socialisation are needed to explain possible differences and provide suitable measure to face possible mobility problems at an early stage of immigration. Because of the interactions of different variables, it is useful to look at segments of the older population, which take into account several variables at once. Different existing segmentations of older people have been compared with the conclusion that it makes sense to distinguish between four types of older road users: A car dependent type that is restricted in mobility (often living in more peripheral areas); a better-off car-oriented and highly mobile type; a more self-determined type that is open to all transport modes and finally captive public transport users, which are predominantly women. Accessibility appears to be a key variable for older people to stay mobile and keep a high level of quality of life. While in districts of high accessibility restricted car access can be compensated by good infrastructural conditions, for older people living in the suburbs improvements of accessibility are necessary to ease car dependency. As addressed in Chapter 5, there are disciplines, in which empirical, theoretical, and methodological advances are useful, if not necessary, for further understanding and studying the issue of ageing and transport. These include gerontology and geriatrics, traffic psychology, differential psychology and neuropsychology, and social and political sciences. Future studies on ageing and transport should increasingly draw upon the theories and new findings from these disciplines. Finally, in Chapter 6, the main implications, knowledge gaps and future research directions as addressed in this summary are described in more detail. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting