Fitness to Drive - older driver safety assessment using new technologies

This talk will detail ongoing work to investigate new methods for assessing the fitness to drive of older drivers.

Accurately determining whether a person is still able to drive safely is of increasing societal concern due to the aging population of the UK, where many citizens are reliant on the use of cars. At present, driver assessment processes remain costly and do not judge day-to-day driving.

This talk will detail current UK trials of new technologies designed to automate driver monitoring and then discuss how these tools can aid older drivers, assessors, clinicians, careers and family members. Ultimately, the objective is to strike a fairer balance between maintaining the independence of older people while accurately identifying those whose driving is no longer safe.

In particular, the talk will focus on the work of a unique clinical trial, working with fitness-to-drive assessors, clinicians and older drivers to explore new ways to enable and quantify older driver safety.


Sam Chapman, Chief Innovation Officer, Co-Founder and Director, The Floow

Sam Chapman co-founded The Floow Limited, a global telematics company with a singular mission to make mobility safer and smart for all. Sam's focus is upon driving The Floow to develop cutting edge capabilities and new services to better understand risk.

Sam is involved in leading national and international R&D projects and has published more than 38​ papers in international conferences, books and journals. His publications and expertise cover a broad range of areas including ​traffic management, vehicular pollution and telematics.

Sam has won a range of awards related to understanding risk including the Queens Award for Enterprise in Innovation and Prince Michael International Award for Road Safety.