Several recommendations made after inquest into road death of 86-year-old Edward Raines following fitness to drive request

A coroner has recommended implementing powers to suspend licences immediately following an inquest into the death of an 86-year-old man in a fatal crash.

An inquest into an elderly driver’s death has found the procedures relating to fitness to drive applications need to be expedited.

Edward John Raines’ licence was subject to a medical review after a near-miss with a police officer weeks prior to his death but he continued to drive.

After an inquest into Mr Raines’ death, Coroner Sally Giles made several recommendations into how the systems can be improved, including new powers to provide drivers with instant licence disqualifications.

Opening the inquest in March, counsel assisting Martin Kirby told the court Mr Raines, 86, was observed driving in a dangerous manner by other road users on April 12, 2019.

Edward Raines was killed in a head-on collision in April 2019. Photo: Supplied by family

The inquest heard his death was “predictable and possibly preventable”. Photo: Supplied by family

Mr Raines, who was travelling in a southerly direction along Karoonda Highway near Sandleton, was on the incorrect side on the road when he collided head-on with a truck coming in the opposite direction.

The truck rolled and came to a stop on the highway, with the “shaken” but not seriously injured driver able to extract himself from the truck through the front windscreen.

“Mr Raines’ vehicle suffered catastrophic damage to the front right hand side and Mr Raines was later located deceased in the driver’s seat,” Mr Kirby said.

The court heard Sergeant Mark Wright of Berri police station observed Mr Raines failing to give way to him a few weeks prior to the accident.

He formed the opinion that Mr Raines was not a competent driver and submitted a request later that day for a medical review of Mr Raines to the Department for Infrastructure and Transport (DIT).

On March 26, 2019, DIT sent a letter to Mr Raines requesting he respond within seven days to organise a medical examination of his fitness to drive.

Mr Raines did not respond to DIT at any time prior to his death but did continue to drive.

Mr Kirby raised that the systems in place that might have prevented the outcome worked too slow to be effective.

“The system needs to be either shortened or other changes need to be made so that these drivers are not able to freely drive during the process,” he said.

In her findings, Ms Giles said she recommended that the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport reconsider their current practice.

Ms Giles said DIT should give consideration to whether they could suspend a person’s licence, pending a medical certificate of fitness to drive, in circumstances where SAPOL raises concerns about a driver’s competence.

Another recommendation was that SAPOL and DIT consult and expedite their processes between when a driver is advised they need to provide a medical certificate of fitness to drive and when a person’s licence is suspended for noncompliance.

“Part of that consultation should be improved processes for information sharing,” Ms Giles said.

Ms Giles also said that DIT should transition to using email addresses, rather than postal communication, for fitness to drive and licence suspensions.

“Electronic communication provides a faster, more reliable and traceable method of communication,” she said.

Originally published as Several recommendations made after inquest into road death of 86-year-old Edward Raines following fitness to drive request