Successfully giving up driving for older people

Older people as a cohort are more healthy and active than ever before and as such are also more mobile. They are more likely than ever before to be car users and be driving more miles. Nevertheless, many older people, for one reason or another often associated with physiology or cognitive ageing issues, are the group most likely to need to give-up driving, an act that is associated with an increase in depression and a poorer quality of life. This thinkpiece explores why this is, suggesting that while car travel fulfils practical and utilitarian needs which can be difficult to achieve without a car in an ever increasing hyper-mobile society that is geared more and morearound the car, such as accessing shops, services and hospitals, there are also psychological or affective needs and aesthetic needs that are not met in a life without a car. For example, the car provides independence, affords status and conveys roles and responsibilities while showing an engagement with a normal society and allows the individual to engage in travel for its own sake. Lifebeyond the car is fraught with difficulties in achieving these needs. This paper examines how this might be overcome, discussing whether driving might be prolonged, despite the negative externalities to the environment and society of increased car usage, and the potential safety issues faced by older drivers. It suggests that some of the negative affect from giving-up driving might be mitigated if the locus of control remains with the individual and they plan to give-up driving with the support and help of family and friends over a long period of time gradually trialling other forms of transport. How these other forms of transport, including public and community transport and the walking and cycling infrastructure for example, might be improved to meet older people’s needs arealso examined. Novel schemes such as lift-sharing or the Independent Transportation Network are noted in the possible package of solutions for a life beyond the car, along with the potential for mobility scooters and virtual mobility to provide some of the solution. Overall, older people need to remain in control and have a say in the transport solutions that are designed for them in a lifebeyond the car. A full list of recommendations are found in Section 8 of the report

Geographical Perspectives on Transport and Ageing

In terms of ageing, we are living in unprecedented times. People across the globe are living longer than ever before and societies are ageing at increasing rates. In low to middle income countries reductions in mortality at young ages have fuelled this growth. A person born today in Brazil, for example, can expect to live 20 years longer than someone born 50 years ago (WHO, 2015). For the first time life expectancy across the globe is over 60 years of age. In high Income countries, someone born now can expect to live up to around 80 years of age on average (ONS, 2015). There are not simply a growing number of older people, but also a growing number of older people as a total percentage of the population due to people living longer and declining birth rates in many countries. Across Europe, for example, people aged over 65 years will account for 29.5% of the population in 2060 compared to around 19% now (EUROSTAT, 2017). The share of those aged 80 years or above across Europe will almost triple by 2060 (EUROSTAT, 2017)The macro level demographics and associated trends mask big differences within the ageing populations. There can be as much as 10 years difference in life expectancy within high income countries, for example in the UK someone born a baby boy born in Kensington and Chelsea has a life expectancy of 83.3 years, compared with a boy born in Glasgow who has a life expectancy of 10 years lower (73.0 years) (ONS, 2015). For newborn baby girls, life expectancy is highest in Chiltern at 86.7 years and 8 years lower Glasgow at 78.5 years (ONS, 2015; NRS, 2016). There is also considerable variation within cities, spatially and socially.This volume brings together contributions from a broad range of human geographers, with different disciplinary perspectives of transport and ageing. This chapter outlines some of the key contemporary issues for an ageing society in terms of transport and mobility, highlights the importance of considering transport and mobility for ageing populations and outlines the contribution that a geographical approach can offer to studies of transport and ageing

Culture and low-carbon energy transitions

How does culture influence low-carbon energy transitions? How can insights about cultural influences guide energy planners and policymakers trying to stimulate transitions, particularly at a time of rapid technological change? This Review examines the influence of culture on a selection of low-carbon technologies and behavioural practices that reflect different dimensions of sustainability. Based on a typology of low-carbon technology and behaviour, we explore the cultural dimensions of four specific cases: eco-driving, ridesharing, automated vehicles and whole-house retrofits. We conclude with recommendations for those seeking to analyse, understand, develop, demonstrate and deploy low-carbon innovations for sustainable energy transitions

Community Connections and Independence in Later Life

Living in a hypermobile world, where people are travelling more than ever before, people want to stay connected to evermore dispersed communities as they age. Staying connected to communities and social networks enables older people to contribute to society and is associated with positive mental and physical health, facilitating independence and physical activity while reducing social isolation. This chapter takes an ecological perspective to examine transport mobility in later life that identifies person-activity-environment fit and recognises the complex and nested relationships between biological, behavioural, social, cultural, and environmental factors that occur over the life course of individuals, families, neighbourhoods, and communities is critical. Mobility in later life is more than a means of getting to destinations and includes more affective or emotive associations and mobility without driving needs to embrace this. This chapter explores the potential for successful connected and independent lives for older people without the need to drive a car

Older People’s Mobility, New Transport Technologies and User-Centred Innovation

People are fitter and more mobile than ever before, but transport can still be an issue in later life due to physiological and cognitive challenges. This chapter examines findings from four focus groups with 36 older people examining the importance of mobility and future changes in mobility and transport. Older people were generally sceptical of potential transport futures, though they welcome technologies that reduce physical difficulty in mobility, gave real-time information, and reduced issues with interchange. There were mixed feelings of automated vehicles, often dependent upon the individual’s willingness to accept technology taking over their own skills and abilities, trust in the technology and concerns over future built environments

Mobility in Later Life and Wellbeing

Transport is more important to older people than ever before. We live in, what is termed by academics in the transport field, as a “hypermobile” society. One where high levels of mobility are needed in order to stay connected to communities, friends and family and to access shops and services. The car has been central to this hyper-connectivity. Being mobile is linked to quality of life. In particular, giving up driving in later life has repeatedly been shown to related to a decrease in wellbeing and an increase in depression and related health problems, including feelings of stress and isolation and also increased mortality. Recent figures from Great Britain suggest around 342,000 over 75뭱year olds ‘feel trapped’ in their own homes through lack of suitable transport after giving-up driving. In previous work, myself and my colleague examined why mobility is important to older people. We placed the need for mobility around three main motivational domains, utility (mobility as a need to get from A to B), psychosocial (mobility that effects independence, identity and roles) and aesthetic needs (mobility for its own sake) in a hierarchical manner. This chapter will examine case studies of life beyond the car in three main areas (older people as pedestrians, older people using public transport and older people receiving lifts from friends and family) as well as examining a group of older drivers identifying to what extent the three levels of need, utility, psychosocial and aesthetic are met. Driving a car satisfies all three levels of mobility need. Results suggest that transport provision beyond the car neglects psychosocial needs of mobility and sporadically meets practical and aesthetic needs depending upon the wider social context

Exploring older drivers' perceptions of driving

This research uses grounded theory to assess the driving needs of 29 older car drivers using four data collection techniques (two waves of focus groups, an interview and a driver diary). Findings suggest that older drivers view themselves as having better driving skills and attitude towards driving compared to when they were younger and compared to other drivers. In addition, they have a good ability to adapt to their changing physiology. Nevertheless, they report difficulty in assessing their own driving ability and cite they would like help to increase self-awareness about the driving task. In addition, the participants report having increasing difficulty in not having enough time to read, compute and comprehend road signs, maintaining a constant speed at the speed-limit, increased tiredness and fatigue and increased sensitivity to glare. The findings suggest given an iterative, qualitative methodology where driving issues are focused upon, older drivers can become more self-aware of their driving limitations and discuss these aspects in the context of ageing physiology. © 2010 Springer-Verlag

Transportation and Promoting Physical Activity Among Older People

Walking and cycling (‘active travel’) as part of daily routines can promote moderate physical activity. However, barriers in the built environment, for example, poorly maintained pavements, can make the environment very difficult for older people to walk or cycle in. Streets and roads around the world tend to be designed most prominently for vehicles and there is a need to create spaces to separate vehicles from walking and cycling, where possible, to reduce danger, pollution and noise. With regard to norms, where walking and cycling is part of a culture, more older people walk and cycle. Better governance is needed to manage the different stakeholders and users of the built environment and give more power to vulnerable users, including older people

Examining the process of driving cessation in later life

Driving cessation for many older people is associated with a poorer quality of life and can lead to health problems such as depression. This paper aims to reveal the process of giving-up driving, examining in particular triggers for giving-up driving, how information on alternative modes of transport is sought and how new transport and travel behaviour is integrated into older people's lives. It examines the challenges faced and how these are overcome and what impact the process has on self-reported quality of life, as articulated by the participants themselves. To this end, twenty-one individuals from three locations in the United Kingdom (UK) were followed over a period of 10 months, through five waves of data collection. Each participant took part in three interviews, a focus group and completed a diary of travel behaviour. Findings suggest that although a similar pattern was found between the trigger and life post-car, not all older people go through the stages of giving-up driving in the same way. Instead, a range of responses are seen, from contemplation of gradually reducing driving, through to stopping abruptly, with the route taken having consequences for the eventual outcome for any individual. Triggers for contemplating driving cessation could be varied and often involved health and social factors. Importantly, people who engaged in pre-planning reported a relatively higher quality of life beyond the car, whilst for those who were more reactive and engaged in little or no pre-planning a poorer quality of life resulted. In addition (and in conjunction with planning), other factors, such as flexibility in travel destinations, the role of family and friends, and wider support networks are also seen as important. With such evidence of the importance of pre-planning it is suggested that more could be done to support giving-up driving and encouraging contemplation at a younger age to mitigate the negative effects experienced by some. © 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg