Document: Safe with age operational policy | Download PDF

Safe with Age

Operational policy with notes

October 2003

Overview of the Safe with Age course

The aim of the Safe with Age course is to enable the target group of people aged 60 years and over:

to recognise the effect of the ageing process on the driving task
to provide systems to identify how their driving is affected at present or may be in the future
to provide coping strategies to compensate for these effects
to assist them to enjoy safe and successful mobility as long as possible.

A kit is supplied to the facilitator of the course and this includes:

a workbook with timetable and exercises for the participant to complete
brochures and poster for advertising and promotion
certificate of completion of course
scenarios (for drivers and pedestrians) and laminated pictures
video
a facilitator's manual with practical information and advice for running the course

The course addresses the following:

decision making
identifying the problem
responsibilities (shared and individual)
conditions affecting safety
driving rules and tips (video)
a self analysis review
driving problems
route planning
a session for the participants to identify any other problems.

At the end of the course an evaluation sheet is given to all the participants.

The aims of the course are clearly stated in the supplied resources together with a suggested timetable and prescribed content.

Priority group

The Safe with Age programme targets the mature road user and consists of a prescribed course aimed at creating awareness of, and providing strategies for, coping with the issues affecting the mature person as a road user.
The course is designed to address issues for road users over the age of 60 years, however, there are no exclusive age limits.

Contract delivery

Courses can be contracted directly to the Land Transport Safety Authority (LTSA), territorial local authorities (TLAs) or other organisations with an interest in achieving road safety outcomes for the priority group. The decision regarding contractors is made regionally.
The applicant's community links and ability to reach the priority group must be considered.
Contractors should have a policy in place for safe work practices.

LTSA regional managers decide who in their region will be contracted to deliver Safe with Age courses. There are regional variations, for example, some regions contract directly with Age Concern whereas other programmes are co-ordinated by the road safety co-ordinator.

The following points should be considered before contracting:

The organisation's links with the priority group.
The ability of the organisation to maintain and grow those links.
The extent of their reach.

Structure, length and format

The suggested length of the course is four hours. This should be delivered in two separate sessions, each being two hours long. These sessions can be delivered on the same day with a break in the middle, or on two separate days.
To achieve the aims of the programme it is important that the sessions address the key issues identified in the manual.
Additions can be made to the programme provided the prescribed issues are not omitted and the additional content is relevant to the subject matter and target audience.
Additions could result in a longer course and may not suit participants.
Delivery can be extended but nominated issues in the facilitator's manual should not be omitted (see comment below on local content).
The course is to be delivered in a workshop format.
No more than 20 participants should attend each workshop.

The course timetable has been set in order to cover all necessary material to achieve the aim of the course. It is not imperative to deliver all the material from the facilitator's manual in the four hours but it is important that sessions include all of the issues outlined in the timetable in the manual. Local content and adaptation to suit the participants' needs can be addressed under these headings and the timetable allows discussion time. Where delivery occurs on the same day, some facilitators use the break between sessions for informal discussion of local issues.

The number of participants may vary according to the preferences of the facilitator, however, consultation with facilitators has put the ideal maximum number of participants at 20 in order to maintain the effectiveness of workshop delivery.

Course content

The course has a prescribed format, content and a timetable that should be followed.
All advice must be legally correct or consistent with best practice. Queries raised by the participants of this course that are not readily answerable from The official New Zealand road code for car drivers ('the road code'), regarding traffic law and road rules should be referred to the LTSA or the New Zealand Police.

The issues identified in the Safe with Age facilitator's manual must be covered. There should be no omissions of the recommended issues, however, there may be some local additions. Consultation showed that in some courses, variations had been made that did not subscribe to the original intent of the course. If there is a community need for issues other than those covered in this programme then an application for Community Road Safety Programme (CRSP) funding can be made to run a separate project addressing those issues.

Referral to the LTSA and/or the New Zealand Police on matters not answerable from the road code will ensure that correct information is given. There is provision for discussion in the timetable, however, the facilitator is not a road safety expert and does not have the knowledge to advise on points of law. Those involved in monitoring some courses have witnessed incorrect information given by some facilitators in this area.

Facilitators

When recruiting a facilitator, the person's ability to deliver the course should be considered.
All facilitators will be trained prior to delivering the Safe with Age course by an LTSA approved trainer.
Training for the facilitator should include facilitation skills (if identified as necessary) as well as course content and an explanation of the rationale for the course.
Facilitators will ideally be in the same age group as the priority group.
At least one regional facilitators' meeting per year will be held in each region and facilitators will be expected to attend.

The regional facilitators' meeting is an opportunity for peer support, and to provide feedback and update facilitators on any changes to the course content. Any delivery problems and changes that have been made affecting the programme will be addressed. It is also a form of monitoring and will give an insight into how the programme is being delivered in the region.

Payment of facilitators

Payment should be made to facilitators for delivery of the programme.

For those facilitators delivering the course only, a standard session fee should be paid.
For consistency it is suggested that each region set a session fee for payment to all co-ordinators in that region.
Payment for any additional time for tasks such as preparation, advertising and catering should be assessed and can be paid as an hourly rate or as an extra amount added to the session fee.

It may not suit the TLA, organisation or provider contracted to carry out this programme to pay an hourly rate as the facilitator then becomes an employee. In this situation, the hours worked should be estimated and included in an overall session fee for the facilitator.

Some regions have encountered difficulties in the retention of facilitators due to the voluntary and arbitrary payment system. In recognising and paying for the amount of work carried out the retention of facilitators should be improved.

Training/monitoring

Trainers for the facilitators of the course will be identified by the CRSP professional development co-ordinator in the LTSA national office in consultation with each region.
Trainers will be responsible for training and attending the annual regional facilitators meeting.
Monitoring will take place as part of the LTSA's contractual obligation as in Section Two of the CRSP contract.

Training for the facilitator will consist of:

attendance at a Safe with Age delivery by a peer facilitator prior to formal training
a one on one or group session with the trainer on course content, including a mock delivery to assess the facilitator's ability. Facilitation skills training may be needed
a visit by the trainer to one of the first three courses delivered by the facilitator
feedback and suggestions for the content and delivery
an annual meeting with other regional facilitators providing any identified developmental training, content update or other relevant support.

If the facilitator has not already attended a Safe with Age course they should sit in on a course prior to any training. This will familiarise them with the delivery process and the content. It will also provide the facilitator with a view of what they are expected to do and will prevent training the person and then finding out it is not what they expected.

The facilitator trainer may be the regional education adviser or a contractor. The national office CRSP team will decide this in consultation with the region.

In order to ensure that the facilitators receive support and guidance, the facilitator trainer for the Safe with Age programme will arrange at least one regional meeting per year. All facilitators will attend in order to identify any ongoing problems, address any training needs and to provide a support role for each other.

Facilitator trainers in turn will require training. At the moment the LTSA has mainly relied on two or three staff members to do most of the training for the facilitators. It is essential for the growth and continuity of the programme that each region has a trainer. It is suggested that staff with the institutional knowledge to carry out this training are utilised in the regional facilitator trainers sessions for each region.

The annual meeting, together with the contractual reporting and support from the LTSA, will serve as an indicator of the quality and content consistency of the programme.

The feedback from those consulted agreed that both the content and the quality of delivery should be monitored but in a non-intimidatory manner.

Maori, Pacific peoples and other ethnicities

Safe with Age programmes can be funded from the programme streams for Maori, Pacific peoples and other ethnicities provided that they adhere to the aims and content of the prescribed Safe with Age programme.
Delivery can be extended but prescribed content should not be omitted.

The Safe with Age programme has been delivered to Maori, Pacific peoples and other ethnic groups. The content of the course has not been altered but delivery can take longer due to various protocols and language barriers.

Evaluations

A course evaluation form is provided in the kit to be completed by participants at the end of each course. The format provided should be followed, no deletions should be made but additions to the evaluation can be made to suit regional preferences.
Once the evaluation has been completed, collected and used for any purposes suitable to the facilitator or co-ordinator, a minimum of 90 percent of the evaluation forms are to be sent via the LTSA regional office to the information database administrator at the LTSA national office for collation.
Evaluations should show a 75 percent or better satisfaction rate with the course.
A programme evaluation needs to be submitted to the LTSA at the end of the financial year or within a month of completion of the programme, whichever is sooner.

The evaluation forms have historically been used to collate numbers going through the courses and used for feedback on how the course has been perceived by participants. In addition, information will now be collected on the age group of the participant and the reason why they have attended the course. The information will be collated at the LTSA national office and will be available through the information system.

Document: Safe with age operational policy | Download PDF