Older motorists have been responsible for at least 145 road deaths and more than 7000 injuries over the past five years, with the state’s rapidly ageing driver population prompting calls for mandatory medical checks.
The average age of Victorian motorists has increased by nine years during this period to stand at just over 50 years old. “It was all because of that stupid accident. His life was completely messed up because of this old guy driving crazily,” said his mother, Meiko. “It makes me very nervous as a clinician because it is up to the patient to act on my advice and notify VicRoads,” she said.
Police, community members, family and friends can also anonymously report motorists if they are concerned that their medical condition or disability is negatively affecting their driving. “We continue to support Victoria’s approach, which emphasises a driver’s behaviour and medical fitness to operate a motor vehicle,” he said. “Driving should be based on ability, not on age.”
He acknowledged that some older Australians believed that the imposition of an annual test was discriminatory, and pointed out that many younger drivers also had crashes. VicRoads assesses about 90,000 drivers of all ages for their fitness to drive every year, with around 30 per cent of these assessments involving drivers aged 75 and above.
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