Advocates slam "ageist" call for older drivers to undergo mandatory testing
A fresh push to make older drivers undergo mandatory health checks every year has been labelled ageist by advocates.
General Practitioners have reignited the debate to introduce annual assessments for drivers in Victoria aged 75 and over, to bring the state in line with standards in other states including NSW, Queensland, WA and the Australian Capital Territory.
“This is not about discriminating against older people, but a recognition that the skills that are required to drive safely can be lost as we get older,” the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Victoria chair Dr Anita Muñoz told The Age.
"We do feel that having an annual assessment done for elderly drivers is a good thing," the college's Victoria co-deputy chair Dr Bindiya Sethi added.
Victoria Police data obtained by The Age also showed that 145 people have died and 7080 have been injured in road incidents caused by people aged over 65.
20 per cent of licence holders in Victoria are over 65, which has gone up from 16 per cent a decade ago.
In the last financial year, there were 247 deaths and 16,265 injuries caused by crashes on Victorian roads, with drivers aged 65 and over responsible for around 10 per cent of these incidences.
However, Chris Potaris, chief executive of the Council on the Ageing Victoria and Seniors Rights Victoria, has called the move "ageist".
“We continue to support Victoria’s approach, which emphasises a driver’s behaviour and medical fitness to operate a motor vehicle,” he told the publication.
“Driving should be based on ability, not on age.”
Seniors Rights Victoria policy and advocacy manager Ben Rogers has also slammed the move.
"We find it ageist and arbitrary ... It's targeting people that don't need to be targeted," Rogers said.
MP Steve Dimopolous added that there was no evidence that an aged-based assessment model was any better than the existing rules.
VicRoads also claimed that there is a lot of misinformation about older drivers, who are "usually more cautious, more experienced and more responsible" than younger drivers.
"They are more likely to obey the law and are less likely to drink drive or speed," VicRoads said.
However, a few others believe that mandatory assessments are a good move.
"I think it's fair enough. Over a certain age, maybe 70 or so," local man Pat said.
"I think the younger drivers are worse than the older drivers," another added.
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