By Graeme Strachan

ALMOST 150 people over the age of 50 were injured on Tayside’s roads in a nine-month period last year.

And as a result of the statistics, Tayside Police are set to target the over-50 age group and promote road safety at various locations across the region this month.

Between April 1 and December 10 last year, 148 people aged 50 and over were injured on Tayside’s roads.

Marian Scott, Tayside Police’s road safety co-ordinator, said, “We have noticed that the over-50 age group has very little in the way of road safety education offered to them.

“With 148 people of this age group being involved in road traffic accidents on Tayside’s roads in a nine- month period, we feel there is an audience not being catered for.

“Just because the adult has reached maturity doesn’t mean that the skills they have used to get them there are still as honed, because it is a fact of life that as the body ages things wear out and mobility of joints is lost.

“Many older people are responsible for transporting grandchildren as well and the way adults behave when near roads has a direct effect on children.”

Awareness days will be held at Dobbies in Monifieth this Tuesday, Dobbies’ Perth store on Tuesday, January 18, and Homebase at Kingsway Retail Park, Dundee, the Tuesday after.

“These awareness days will have an interactive theme,” added Ms Scott.

“There will be the chance to test reactions and eyesight. Good reactions and eyesight are as important for pedestrians as it is for drivers.

“Information will be available on a variety of pertinent topics with the emphasis on education, not enforcement.”

Billy Watson, acting director of RNIB (Royal National Institute for the Blind) Scotland, added, “It is well known that our eyesight is likely to deteriorate as we get older. It is therefore vital that everyone, whether a driver or pedestrian, has their eyes checked regularly.

“Everyone should have their eyes tested at least every two years, and more often if advised by a health professional. Recent research by RNIB Scotland found that two out of every five drivers in Scotland are not having regular eye tests. This means that over a million drivers could be on the roads in Scotland with poor eyesight, putting themselves and others at risk and possibly breaking the law.”