Big push for licence change for older Aussies

There is a strong push from doctors to test the health of older drivers after a shocking series of road fatality statistics.

Older Aussie drivers could finally be tested in the nation’s second most populous state following a major push off the back of a shocking series of road fatality statistics.

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) is calling for regular health testing of older drivers in Victoria — where drivers aged 75 and over are not tested.

In almost all other Australian jurisdictions, except Western Australia and South Australia, there are systems in place that monitor people aged 75 and over and their ability to drive safely on the road.

In Western Australia the age for testing starts at 80 and in South Australia older drivers are expected to conduct self-assessments.

Drivers aged 65 and over make up almost 20 per cent of licence holders in Victoria, a 16 per cent increase in ten years.

The RACGP is calling on the Victorian Government to ensure that drivers 75 years and older are subject to annual health checks. It is not however calling for mandatory driving tests.

There is a push to test older drivers in Victoria. Picture: NCA NewsWire /Brendan Beckett

Older drivers can be slower to react to threats or can have diminished vision, memory or concentration due to ageing or new medication.

“We’re calling on the government to consider making these annual health checks just part of routine business and making it mandatory just like it is in other states,” RACGP vice president Michael Clements said.

“Our ability to respond to shocks, changes in weather conditions, kids running out on the roads chasing a ball, all of those things happen quite suddenly.

“We do need all of our faculties to carry out that appropriately.”

Victorian woman Pat is in favour of the move. She is already predominantly driven around by her son and her carer, but still has a licence.

“I just thought I was getting too old,” she told 9News. “But I’ve still got my licence in case I need it.”

There were 247 fatal car crashes in Victoria in the 2022-23 financial year, with 28 of those collisions involving an at fault driver aged 65 or over, according to Victorian Police records.

Police data obtained by The Age dating back to 2018 shows, as a result of at fault drivers aged 65 and over, 145 people died and 7080 motorists were injured in road accidents over a five-year period.

Originally published as Big push for licence change for older Aussies