Robert Heard, known as Rob, has been recognised on the New Year’s Honours list, which marks the achievements and services of people across the UK for services to road safety.
The former Roads Policing Sergeant began his career in 1989, spending four years posted at Andover Police Station before working as a motorcyclist for Winchester traffic.
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Rob Heard (Image: Hampshire Constabulary)
During his time with Hampshire Constabulary, Rob helped provide policing support on a number of VIP visits, including escorting former US President Bill Clinton and Queen Elizabeth II.
He also policed the Olympics in London in 2012, as well as the Olympic Torch routes in Hampshire and the Thames Valley, for which he was awarded the Chief Constable’s congratulations.
Rob became passionate about road safety after investigating a crash in 2011 in which an 89-year-old driver, who was blind in one eye, drove the wrong way down a dual carriageway for a mile, killing another driver.
The incident prompted him to set up the Older Drivers Forum, a nationally recognized forum that provides help, safety advice, and support to older drivers, family, friends, and medical practitioners.
He retired from the force in 2019 after 30 years of service but has since continued to raise awareness through his work as a Road Safety Consultant specialising in mature and older drivers.
In 2024, Rob led a national campaign encouraging police forces across the country to undertake roadside eyesight testing at every opportunity for two weeks.
Rob said he feels ‘humbled’ to receive the accolade, continuing: “I wish to dedicate it to all the families and persons who have lost their lives due to road traffic collisions. Every day nearly five people lose their lives on UK Roads, and many are avoidable.
“In my 30 years of service as a police officer, I dealt with and attended over 100 fatalities and I truly saw the devastation it caused to all involved.
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“Following several fatal and serious collisions involving older drivers, I saw more needed to be done to be done to support this vulnerable road group.
“We have an ageing population, and the number of older drivers (70 and above) is increasing by 250,000 every year. We all age differently, we have drivers in their 40’s who are no longer fit to drive and drivers in their late 90’s and early hundreds who are perfectly fit to drive.
“Whilst mature and older drivers have a wealth of experience, confidence and tolerance, their sight, hearing, reaction time and judgement of speed and distance may not be as sharp as they once were.
“A car is a lethal weapon, and we all have a responsibility to make sure we are fit and healthy to drive and know when the right time is to retire from driving. By not being complacent and undertaking a few basic checks and reviews on our driving we all will be able to carry on driving safely for longer.”