Warning sign for older drivers

NEW drivers on French roads are required to stick the letter "A" (apprenti) on the back of their car. Now an association is introducing the letter "S" (senior) for older drivers.

The Signal Senior association says it has sold 1,200 stickers so far - costing €4 - and hopes they will save lives.

Some 16% of drivers on French roads are over 65, and while they are involved in fewer accidents (9%), when a crash does happen they are twice as likely to die according to figures from Prévention Routière.

The idea of the sticker is to alert other road users to the fact that the driver of the car in front might have slower reflexes.

The association's president Gilles Renard told BFMTV: "We want this sticker to protect elderly people who are still driving. Those who are already using the sticker are happy because they are no longer honked at by other road users, they are left in peace and are much better respected."