Parliament calls on EU car industry to help elderly

MEPs have backed calls for the car industry to introduce improvements to car design to help meet the transport needs of Europe’s elderly.

UK Socialist MEP Richard Howitt said car makers “need to understand and develop better solutions” for older people.

Speaking in parliament on Tuesday, Howitt, who chairs the assembly’s disability intergroup, said, “These people represent a significant proportion of the population, yet for many, mobility is a major concern.

“Key issues that need to be addressed by the industry include both vehicle design and cooperation with companies who convert and adapt vehicles for specialist needs.”

His comments were echoed by UK Socialist deputy Robert Evans, a transport committee member, who said, “I am happy to champion the cause of older people, including the disabled, who have a right to travel freely and have access to public transport.”

Howitt and Evans were speaking at the presentation of a study on sustainable mobility by the organisers of the European Mobility Debate. Its UK-based chairman Mike Wear, a former Ford motor company executive, said that people aged over 55 accounted for more than 33 per cent of new car buyers in 2007, even though they made up only 17 per cent of the population.

“By 2015 there will be some 95 million people aged 65 and over across the EU and there is growing demand for vehicles which are modified to improve access. This is not just about older people with mobility problems - there is also a significant market among disabled people of working age and younger.

“There is a need for closer cooperation between the car industry and the specialist companies all over Europe who modify and adapt vehicles.”

His comments were echoed by Maria Nyman, policy officer with the Brussels-based European Disability Forum.

Nyman, who specialises in transport issues, said, “So far, there has not been much debate at EU level on this issue but, hopefully, that will soon change.”

She said measures like power steering and electric windows could help older car users.

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