The elderly are a group that requires specific attention from a road safety point of view. At this moment in time, Drenthe is one of the Dutch provinces with the highest percentage of elderly people. At the same time, their share of the provincial population is increasing faster than the national average. This report analyses road safety of the elderly road users in Drenthe. In Drenthe, as in the rest of the Netherlands, the risk of becoming a victim of a road accident increases from the age of 60. Those of 75 years old and older have, per kilometre travelled, the greatest chance of being killed in a road accident. Their great risk of being killed is mainly the result of their greater bodily vulnerability than other age groups; from an accident of equal severity, they will incur severer injuries. An analysis is made of accident types for different driver age groups (elderly and younger age groups) in both Drenthe and the Netherlands. The development of the risks in Drenthe for the elderly, among the various transport means (pedestrians, cyclists and car occupants) are, however, comparable with those in the rest of the Netherlands; they all declined. In spite of this, the prediction is that in 2015, the proportion of the 60-years-and-older among the total seriously injured in Drenthe, will be larger than during 1996-1998. This prediction is completely based on the increase in the population. Measures that can promote the elderly safety in Drenthe can be divided into three types: measures that have a positive influence on traffic participation, the accident involvement, and on the vulnerability.
Samenvatting