Out from behind

 A shopping street in Osaka has begun providing discounts to elderly drivers who voluntarily turn in their driver’s licenses, while a local police station last month held a “graduation ceremony” for seniors who have given up driving.

These moves are aimed at stemming the increasing number of traffic accidents involving elderly people, particularly accidents associated with their declining attentiveness and reflexes.

About 40 stores on the Senbayashi shopping street and other places in Asahi Ward have been providing discounts since this summer to people aged 65 and older who turned in their driver’s licenses. At barber shops and restaurants, people can get discounts of 3-per-cent to 10-per-cent off goods or services when they present a certificate of their driving history, which is given to them when they return their driver’s licenses.

The programme was launched by the association of shopping streets in the ward at the Asahi Police Station’s suggestion. The association asked its member stores to join the programme.

“I hope the programme will help ensure the safety of elderly people who shop at shopping streets,” says Keizo Yasuda, 70, the association’s chairman.

At a ceremony on September 5, the police station presented a “certificate of graduation from driving” to 10 people between the ages of 67 and 83 who returned their driver’s licences.

At the beginning of the ceremony, Takehiro Komaki, head of the police station, told the participants, “I thank you for your cooperation to improving traffic safety.”

Takayuki Hirohata, 76, who was honoured at the ward’s ceremony, says: “We tend to assume our driving skills haven’t declined. But I’ll quit driving for my family.”

According to the Osaka prefectural police’s driver’s license department, an increasing number of shops and other businesses have begun providing such services to elderly people who return their driver’s licenses.

In Osaka Prefecture, 10,772 elderly people returned their driver’s licenses last year, 11 times the number who returned their licenses in 2011, when the police began collecting such data.

In Shizuoka, the Shizuoka Minami Police Station has opened a counselling office to encourage drivers aged 65 and older to return their driver’s license to reduce number of traffic accidents caused by elderly drivers.

The office, the first of its kind in the prefecture, accepts consultations from elderly drivers who are concerned about their own driving and their family members and advises them to return their driver’s licence.

As of September 10, there were 1,404 accidents this year in the area covered by the police station, down 71 from the same period last year. However, 229 of them were caused by elderly drivers aged 65 and older, an increase of 26. Because of this, the police station decided to open the office.

The office is manned by three traffic patrol officers.

The service began on September 5 and within six days, 11 people aged at 66 to 90 returned their driver’s licences. That number went up to 40 by the end of the month.

People will be given a certificate of their driving history when they return their driver’s licenses. By showing the certificate, they can receive some benefits, such as a 10-per-cent discount off taxi fares.