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2012/02: Should greater restrictions be placed on elderly drivers?
Introduction to the media issue
Video clip at right:On February 19, 2012, Channel 7 News reported an 80-year-old man drove his car towing a caravan the wrong way on the Westgate Freeway. If you cannot see this clip, it will be because video is blocked by your network. To view the clip, access from home or from a public library, or from another network which allows viewing of video clips.
What they said...
'Age itself is not an indicator of driving ability, but it is generally accepted that as we get older our reflexes and reaction times are slower'
Queensland MP, Peter Lawlor, whose daughter lost a leg in a car park accident when an 88-year-old driver pinned her between two cars
'Research by the Government in 2006 indicated that older drivers were not disproportionately represented in crash statistics'
West Australian Transport minister, Troy Buswell
The issue at a glance
On August 26, 2011, the Tasmanian government announced that as of October 2011, drivers over 85 would no longer face a compulsory competence test.
On September 25, 2011, the West Australian government announced that drivers in that state aged 75 to 78 will no longer require a medical assessment to renew their licence. The change in West Australian regulations is expected to be in place within six months.
Each of these relaxations of regulations has been justified on the supposed absence of research data that would warrant such blanket testing of elderly drivers. The West Australian Transport Minister, Troy Buswell, noted that age per se was not a marker of reduced driving competence.
However, negative attention has recently been attracted to elderly drivers in Queensland and Victoria by five incidents in which they were involved.
In May, 2011, a 37-year-old Queensland woman was involved in an accident which resulted in her leg being amputated. She and her four-year-old son were struck by a car driven by an 88-year-old motorist in a shopping centre car park.
In June, 2011, a 90-year-old Queensland woman died after being crushed by a reversing car in Brisbane's west. The woman and two others were hit by an 80-year-old driver who had lost control of her reversing car in a car park.
In January, 2012, a 93-year old man died in Ivanhoe when he hit the accelerator instead of the brakes, while a 74-year-old woman was hospitalised and her passenger died after she hit a bridge railing near Echuca.
In February, 2012, a disoriented elderly motorist drove across the West Gate Bridge and through the Domain Tunnel in the wrong direction.
Though no serious accidents occurred as a result, the most recent incident has led to a variety of calls for greater restrictions on elderly drivers.