Renewed calls to make major driver's licence change for older Aussies: 'We have to'

Yahoo

13 hours ago

The discussion of whether older Australians should be subject to additional driver's licence requirements has been reignited following a fatal car accident involving a 91-year-old driver.
Authorities in Victoria are looking to review the road rules after a two-year-old boy was hospitalised and two adults, thought to be his grandparents, died after they were hit while walking on a suburban street in Melbourne last week.
The elderly woman behind the wheel at the tragedy in the Melbourne suburb of Wantirna South last Thursday was "terribly shaken", police said. She was taken to hospital with minor injuries and has yet to be interviewed by police.
The morning after the incident, Victoria's Acting Premier Ben Carroll renewed the discussion on driving regulations for the elderly and confirmed he would work with the road safety minister on the matter.
Road safety advocates across the country have since weighed in on the debate, with Russell White, founder of the Australian Road Safety Foundation, arguing the latest incident should be the catalyst for standardised change across the country.
"Sadly, it's taken someone to have a serious incident and for lives to be lost for us to have discussions like this," he told Yahoo News.
"We have to try and look at how we become more proactive in this space and take some probably hard decisions to alter what people's view is on driving."
Victoria does not have age-based driving safety requirements, although drivers aged 75 and older must renew their licence every three years, which can involve various tests.
In NSW, Queensland, the ACT, Tasmania and the Northern Territory, drivers older than 75 are required to have a health check, while older drivers in South Australia must complete self-assessments.
In Western Australia, an annual medical assessment is required to renew a driver's licence after turning 80.
White believes all drivers need more rigorous training over the years after they acquire their licence.
"In an ideal world, I would like to see some form of additional coaching that happens," he said. It could come with a practical driving evaluation once a decade, he suggested. While he believes that it may be unpopular to implement such a framework, saving lives is the ultimate priority.
"We've got to look at standardising the framework for older drivers, including lifelong learning as far as coaching is concerned," he said.
Startling statistics released in the past year reveal elderly drivers are disproportionately represented in road crash statistics.
Older drivers aged 85 and up are disproportionately affected by fatal crashes, according to data by Road Safety Education Limited (RSE) earlier this year, while insurance company AAMI singled out senior Australians as risky drivers in their Decade of Driving report.
Following the incident, Dr Anita Muñoz, Victorian chair of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, argued that age is not an innate barrier to safe driving and people of all ages must recognise their responsibility when it comes to being a safe driver.
"Fitness to drive and safety on the road is, however, something we should all be proactive about — for ourselves, with our family members, and as GPs, with our patients," she said.
"There's an association between our health and our social connectedness and mobility, so it's valuable for older people to continue to drive, but only for as long as it is safe.
"Proactive discussions about safety on the road are part of what we as GPs discuss with older patients, but it's something you should think about too, for yourself and others in your life."
Ben Rogers, CEO of Council on the Ageing (COTA) Victoria, which represents the interests of older Australians, cautioned against licensing requirements, arguing that Victoria leads the country in how it approaches the issue by focusing on "ability rather than age".
"We don't want to see any sort of legislation change in Victoria, but we are happy to have the conversation about mandatory testing for all drivers," he told Yahoo. "It's incumbent on all of us on the roads to make sure that we are driving safely.
"Driving is a privilege, no matter whether you're 45 or 75, if you are not fit to drive you shouldn't be on the roads."
He believes family, friends, and medical practitioners should be supporting conversations with drivers about their fitness to drive across all age groups and ensuring that subsidised additional training is available for those who wish to partake in it.
Investigations into the exact circumstances surrounding the collision at Wantirna South remain ongoing, Victoria Police confirmed.
— With AAP
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