Dr. Francisco Alonso, Director of INTRAS, has been interviewed by Canal Extremadura Radio in its program "El sol sale por el oeste", broadcasted on January 8, 2024.

In the interview they talked about driving in people over 65-70 years old, reflecting on the suitability or not to continue driving at an advanced age.

Dr. Alonso highlighted the importance of not taking the car if we are not in good condition, regardless of our age. In addition, he is in favor of placing some limitations on older people who lose some of their abilities instead of preventing them from driving. He also considers that medical recognitions to renew driving licenses should be carried out every less time.

On the other hand, Alonso talked about two concepts in traffic engineering that could help the elderly in particular: self-explaining roads and forgiving roads.

In the first one, the road itself, through the signage and design, is telling you about the danger and the type of behavior you should have on it (for example, the signaling of black spots).

In the second ones, when you have an accident, the consequences are minimized. For older people, the consequences of accidents are more serious because their physical capacity or resistance to an accident is much lower. We should have passive road safety systems so that, when a mistake is made, it can be rectified and, when the accident occurs, the consequences of that accident are minimized.