Older motorists ‘doctor shopping’ to renew driver’s licences
A SPATE of elderly motorists desperately trying to hold onto their licence are doctor shopping in an attempt to find a sympathetic GP who will clear them to drive.
NSW
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OLDER drivers are “doctor shopping” to renew their licences as safety experts warn more seniors are dying on NSW roads.
With a spate of deaths and accidents involving drivers aged over 70, Sydney GP Dr Annette Munday told The Sunday Telegraph patients were desperately trying to hold onto their licence by finding sympathetic doctors to approve their fitness to drive.
“What happens is people go to their regular GP and their GP says ‘I don’t really think you can drive anymore’ and won’t give them a licence,” she said.
“That person will then try it on with another GP — you know, do the whole doctor shopping thing.”
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In NSW, drivers aged 75 to 84 must have a yearly medical check-up while those aged 85 and over, need to take a driving test every two years.
Australian Road Safety Foundation chief executive Russell White said he was aware older drivers were doctor shopping.
“It’s probably no different to any other medical type scenario,” he told The Sunday Telegraph.
“If you have an addiction, you could probably, quite easily, shop around — doctor hop until you get the result you want.”
The latest data shows the number of road fatalities in the 75 and over age group in NSW has increased compared with last year, up from 24 to 33.
Of those, 11 were drivers, 15 pedestrians, five passengers, one cyclist and one motorbike rider.
Last week an 89-year-old driver died when she reversed her Toyota Yaris into a brick wall at Sylvania. A 73-year-old driver died after a crash on Thursday south of Dubbo, in the state’s central west.
Police sources told The Sunday Telegraph the man, who was driving to Gosford, fell asleep at the wheel.
Dr Munday, a doctor in Campbelltown for the past 25 years, said the compulsory assessments were a growing concern for GPs.
“When I started as a doctor, there weren’t very many drivers aged over the age 75 — now there are lots because people didn’t live that long,” she said.
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“Now you’ve got people in their 90s still wanting to drive around.”
“It’s a problem, as a society, we’ve really got to deal with.
“We’ve got elderly people that don’t have the reflexes, are frequently on medications that impair their ability, some of these people have early dementia or poor memory, they’ve got poor eyesight and a lot of them shouldn’t be driving, quite frankly.”
Federal Macarthur MP Dr Michael Freelander said the pressure on doctors was enormous — even his own grandmother pushed him to sign off on her medical assessment.
“When she was in her late 80s, she wanted me to sign the form for her, even though I knew she was blind and deaf,” he said.
“Well she threatened everything to get me to sign the form for her to be able to drive because her mobility was so important to her.”
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Mr White, of the Road Safety Foundation, said statistics reveal the elderly were just as vulnerable as young, inexperienced drivers.
“This has potentially snuck up on us a bit because people are living much, much longer,” he said.
“We don’t want them to be putting themselves and other people at risk if they’re not fit to be doing it. The driving fitness and education piece in that senior space is definitely something we need to work on.”
NSW Police assistant commissioner Michael Corboy said road safety campaigns, targeting young people, should be the same for older drivers.
“A lot more people are living longer, people are more mobile into their retirement, so they are actually getting out and driving around more,” he said.
“We have to make sure our messaging that we’re sending out is not only used for the 18 to 35-year-old, but for our 56 to 95-year-olds.”
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Bondi grandmother Gisela Bernet, 85, passed her compulsory driving test earlier.
Ms Bernet, who admitted it would be “awful” to lose her licence and independence, said the elderly must decide for themselves whether they continue driving.
“I do think it’s a matter of personal responsibility,” she said.
“Unless you are able to concentrate on the road, you shouldn’t be on the road.”
NSW Centre for Road Safety executive director Bernard Carlon said: “NSW has the most robust older driver licensing system in Australia which strikes a balance between safety for everyone on the road, and keeping older members of our community independent and moving, with flexible licensing options to better suit their needs.”