Older male and female drivers in car-dependent settings: How much do they use other modes, and do they compensate for reduced driving to maintain mobility?

Mark J King; Bridie Scott-Parker

doi:10.1017/S0144686X15001555

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Older male and female drivers in car-dependent settings: How much do they use other modes, and do they compensate for reduced driving to maintain mobility?

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Older male and female drivers in car-dependent settings: How much do they use other modes, and do they compensate for reduced driving to maintain mobility?

Mark J King and Bridie Scott-Parker

Ageing and Society, Vol.37(6), pp.1249-1267

2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X15001555

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Abstract

ageing

driving

mobility

transport mode

walking

gender

Among the societal and health challenges of population ageing is the continued transport mobility of older people who retain their driving licence, especially in highly car-dependent societies. While issues surrounding loss of a driving licence have been researched, less attention has been paid to variations in physical travel by mode among the growing proportion of older people who retain their driving licence. It is unclear how much they reduce their driving with age, the degree to which they replace driving with other modes of transport, and how this varies by age and gender. This paper reports research conducted in the state of Queensland, Australia, with a sample of 295 older drivers (>60 years). Time spent driving is considerably greater than time spent as a passenger or walking across age groups and genders. A decline in travel time as a driver with increasing age is not redressed by increases in travel as a passenger or pedestrian. The patterns differ by gender, most likely reflecting demographic and social factors. Given the expected considerable increase in the number of older women in particular, and their reported preference not to drive alone, there are implications for policies and programmes that are relevant to other car-dependent settings. There are also implications for the health of older drivers, since levels of walking are comparatively low.

Details

Title: Older male and female drivers in car-dependent settings: How much do they use other modes, and do they compensate for reduced driving to maintain mobility?
Authors: Mark J King (Author) - Queensland University of Technology
Bridie Scott-Parker (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Arts, Business and Law
Publication details: Ageing and Society, Vol.37(6), pp.1249-1267
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Date published: 2017
DOI: 10.1017/S0144686X15001555
ISSN: 0144-686X; 0144-686X
Grant note: This research was partially funded by a grant from Trust Company Philanthropic Services. The second author was supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Research Fellowship.
Organisation Unit: School of Social Sciences - Legacy; School of Law and Society; Sustainability Research Cluster
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99449621902621
Output Type: Journal article

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Web Of Science research areas: Gerontology

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