New research from leading car insurer, LV=, reveals today the amount of time retirees spend on the roads reduces dramatically after they finish working. Four in 10 (40%) of pensioners claim that the amount of time they spend driving has reduced drastically.
On average, retirees spend five and a half hours less on the roads each week than they did before taking retirement. Those in the North-East claim to have reduced their driving the most with more than a third of residents (36%) saying they drive between five and 10 hours less per week.
However, even with the reduction in the amount of time spent on the roads, it seems pensioners are still feeling as confident as ever behind the wheel with nearly eight in 10 (78%) people saying that they are a confident driver. The most confident drivers are in Liverpool (95%) and Belfast (88%).
Of the 22% who are less confident on the road, the major reasons for the decline in their confidence is the sheer amount of traffic on the roads and that they are not convinced by other drivers’ abilities on the road.
New changes to road layouts and signalling are the most challenging issues for older drivers on the roads. More than half (55%) say that roads are now more difficult to use than they were when they were learning to drive.
The research follows the launch of LV=’s Route 66 partnership. The route between Lochgilphead and South Ballachulish on the West Coast of Scotland was voted the most retirement friendly by drivers over the age of 65.
Scotland was comfortably the over-65s’ favourite driving location in the UK according to LV=’s research. It secured 17% of the vote – with most of this group identifying the West Coast specifically.
Selwyn Fernandes, Managing Director of Car Insurance at LV=, said: “Most drivers who have retired have decades of experience behind the wheel, but as our research shows they are not driving as much. We’re pleased to name this breath-taking section of road as the most retirement-friendly in the UK. By creating a ‘Route 66’ in the UK, we’re helping these drivers feel more confident by providing a special stretch of road just for them.”
The rural setting of ‘Route 66’ should prove popular with older drivers, particularly given LV=’s research highlights that more than three fifths (62%) of older motorists limit their motorway driving to occasional use and prefer smaller roads.
To help give older drivers more confidence when driving – particularly along the newly-branded ‘Route 66’ – LV= is offering drivers over the age of 65 free coffee, cake or soft drinks at three venues along the drive. All motorists need to do is visit either The Kilmartin Museum Café, The Loch Melfort Hotel in Arduaine, or The Loch Leven Hotel near Ballachulish. The offer runs until the end of October.
To find out more about ‘Route 66’ and LV=’s full range of motor insurance policies, visit lv.com.
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