Response to Hakamies-Blomqvist Lecture under the aspect of road user behaviour

Stereotypes Older drivers are... too slow anxious hesitating react slowly unpredictable overestimate themselves Sunday drivers cant park

Accident involvement and age (Car drivers in Germany)

How do older drivers compensate for their deficits? Experience Skill Attitude Technical equipment

Survey by Ellinghaus et al. (1990) Older drivers avoid driving during rush hour. They prefer car journeys on motorways and ordinary roads and drive less in towns. They avoid those larger crossings they have experienced as dangerous. They prefer driving in well known surroundings. They avoid car journeys during bad weather, twilight and darkness. They drive shorter distances and and have longer breaks. Altogether, they prefer a moderate driving speed.

Experience Older drivers are usually very skilled drivers They discover critical situations quite early They tend to avoid critical situations They increase their attention for the driving task In most situations they choose an average speed

Attitudes more defensive and more careful lower willingness to take risks higher sense of responsibility in general more self-critical attitude towards their own weaknesses as compared to younger drivers

Vehicles with a higher safety standard More comfort than power Simple designed displays Moderate use of IT-equipment Technical possibilities

Countermeasures taken by the public Constriction of the variance of speed (e.g. by general speed limits and better enforcement), simple and timely signeage, avoidance of signs which are more distracting than helpful, better integration of different transportation modes (e.g. a single pass for different types of transportation), educating people that the roads should be used for transportation rather than sport.