In June the Abertis headquarters in Madrid hosted the observatory entitled and 80s’, a meeting promoted by the Abertis Foundation in which experts in the road security sector discussed different aspects to do with driving by seniors.

The meeting was structured into round tables, and focused on issues such as whether there should be a maximum age for driving, or what type of control measures are required to guarantee the adequate psychophysical state of these drivers.

The first session was moderated by Aquilino Molinero, an industrial engineer and member of the committee of experts of the Ponle Freno (Slow Down) road safety platform, and focused on mobility and the accident rate among drivers in their 70s. Leading experts such as Rosa Ramírez (DGT), Cristina Zamorano (Autopistas), Paco Canes (DIA Association), and Jacobo Díaz (AEC) agreed that senior drivers as a group suffer social stigmatisation in spite of being the segment of drivers who are most risk averse and who cause the fewest accidents.

The second round table was moderated by Sergi Loughney, Director of Institutional Relations and CSR at Abertis and the Abertis Foundation, and focused on the physical capabilities of senior drivers and their control by the authorities. Dr. Josep M. Ramírez (Guttmann Institute), Bonifacio Martín (Spanish Association of Medical–Psychotechnical Centres) and Luis Montoro (FESVIAL) concluded that safe driving is possible after 70, so there is no need to restrict driving licences to a maximum age provided that the senior has the necessary psychophysical skills to drive. This pointed to a clear need for improvements in the regular medical inspections to certify the psychophysical capabilities in this group of drivers.

The road safety observatories are a series of workshops organised by the Abertis Foundation as part of its commitment to road safety.