AS we get older we face a number of challenges with our lives, both physically and mentally.

But perhaps one of the most difficult is getting behind the wheel and ensuring we are no risk to ourselves or other road users.

So Hampshire’s police, fire service, councils and charities are once again coming together to ensure the elderly have the help they need to stay safe on the road.

Starting on Monday, they will stage their third annual older drivers’ awareness roadshow, visiting six towns and cities in Hampshire across the week to give out advice, support and free health checks to anyone with concerns.

The agencies came together to form the Older Drivers Forum in June 2013 – the brainchild of Sgt Rob Heard, who formed the organisation after he dealt with a fatal crash on the A30 near Basingstoke.

Sgt Heard, who chairs the forum, said: “An 89-year-old retired GP who was blind in one eye and below the legal sight requirement in the other ended up in a collision while driving the wrong way down a dual carriageway, killing the 28-year-old driver in the other vehicle.

“We prosecuted this man and when it came to court at Winchester, the judge said to us there must be something we could do to raise awareness for the older generation to make sure they are fit to drive.

“I came up with a number of recommendations, including making sure drivers are fit and healthy through regular eye tests and encouraging people to undergo voluntary assessments.”

Sgt Heard, based in Hampshire’s roads policing unit, said research had identified a number of situations where elderly drivers have difficulty.

He said: “They include driving at night and merging from motorway and dual carriageway slip roads, but that the most dangerous was a right turn junction onto a major road.

“Pulling out of a right-turn junction into a major road carries the highest risk because as we get older we get age-related frailties and our reactions get slower. We can help with methods to overcome these issues.”

The forum has had such success that Sgt Heard has been asked to lead a government taskforce to come up with a national strategy on keeping elderly drivers safe by mid 2016.

He added: “We have 4.3 million people over the age of 70 who hold driving licences in the UK and that is increasing by around 250,000 per year, so the expectation is that 4.3m will double or treble in the next 20 years.

“You are no more likely to be involved in an accident at 70 than at any other time, but when you get to 85 you are four times more likely to be involved in a collision you are responsible for. It is essential we make sure we support this growing number of people.”

Another surprising statistic is that drivers who cover fewer than 2,000 miles a year are more likely to be in an accident, with elderly people making up a high proportion of those drivers.

Sgt Heard added: “It could be due to a lack of experience or overconfidence because they are only going a short distance. Or maybe they are suffering from a medical condition so they are not driving as much. But even if you are only doing a little bit of mileage you still need to be able to see.”

And the police will help with measures to assist drivers, such as adding mirrors to vehicles or adjusting steering wheels to make them easier to use.

But for Sgt Heard the key message is for older drivers to avoid complacency.

He said: “Some people stick their heads in the sand and say I’ve been driving for 60 years and I don’t have a problem. But we all need help sometimes. I’m a roads police officer and I get regularly assessed to see if I should be driving. We do not want people to become complacent.

“Every time we renew our driving licence we are saying we understand the Highway Code, but it is updated and amended all the time. And when you are 70 you renew your driving licence every three years, and each time you do you are saying you understand the code, but quite often, you don’t.”

He added: “But it’s not about taking people off the road. We want to make sure people have all the facts and support to drive as long and safely as they possibly can. There may be times where we advise people to retire from driving but it is their decision to make.

“We will give out advice on renewing licences or medical conditions and carry out reaction tests, all in a relaxed atmosphere. It's a fantastic event and we had more than 800 people attend last year so we are hoping for even more to come along next week.

“A couple of years ago we had a 96-year-old man come in who was still driving and his reaction test was the best of all – better than 20-year-olds who had just started driving and had come along with family members.”

n The roadshow begins at Basingstoke Discovery Centre on Monday, Milford on Sea Village Community Centre on Tuesday, West Quay shopping centre on Wednesday, St Thomas’ Square, Newport, on Thursday, Portsmouth’s Cascades Shopping Centre on Friday and finally Aldershot Library on Saturday.

Each session will take place from 9.30am to 3pm and are completely free to attend without the need to make an appointment. Each agency will be represented at a stand and are able to give advice to drivers themselves or concerned friends and family members.

Meanwhile visitors will be able to book confidential driving assessments through Hampshire County Council for £31.50.

Advice on potentially problematic medical conditions is available at Wessex Driveability in Southampton, one of 17 centres in the country run by the DVLA which carry out fitness to drive assessments.

Forum membership includes representatives from Hampshire County Council and district councils, Hampshire Fire and Rescue, Age UK, Age Concern and road safety experts.