Drive recently polled our readers on whether it’s time for Australia to introduce mandatory licence retesting for elderly drivers, but drivers are still divided.
Last week, Drive conducted a survey asking our readers whether or not Australia should introduce a national mandatory licence retesting program for elderly drivers. After more than 1700 responses, the answer is clear.
A majority of readers (36 per cent) voted no to the poll, as they believe there’s no evidence that supports that mandatory retesting is an effective road safety tool. However, 528 readers (30 per cent) said yes if it means there’s less risk for any accidents or fatalities to occur.
RELATED: Should Australia introduce national mandatory licence retesting?
Surprisingly, 421 people (24 per cent) said yes to mandatory licence retesting, but for all drivers and not just elderly motorists, while 10 per cent (167) of respondents said they trust their own experience to know when they’re being a hazard to other road users.
The comments section in the story was full of opposing opinions, suggestions and other issues that could contribute to the country’s rising road toll.
A Drive reader said, “Honestly, a refresher course, with a practical component and assessment, wouldn’t be a bad thing every 10 years. You just have to read the comments on dash cam videos to see how many people have a poor understanding of our current laws, and almost no understanding of defensive driving”.
While another suggested, “Perhaps redo a driving test with an experienced instructor when renewing the licence after 70 years. If deficiencies are detected, the individual should be required to have further instruction before the unconditional right is restored”.
“Also, the interval between renewals should also be reduced progressively. Initially, say to five years and after the age of 80 or 85, every two years. If any health concerns are observed, the renewal interval could be made annually,” they added.
However, other commenters highlighted the issues with the current licence testing program in Australia, with some stating the problem starts before a driver ages.
“What would be the point of that? Have you seen how many really bad drivers pass their driving tests? It’s ridiculous how easy it is to pass,” a Drive reader said.
Another commenter stated, “never mind retesting the ‘elderly’, try making the test much more testing for the young and failing ANY errors”.
But other readers did suggest introducing some type of plates – like P or L plates for novice drivers – for elderly drivers to warn other drivers.
“In Japan, drivers between the age of 70 to 75 are encouraged to display the ‘Kōreisha mark’ on the front and rear of their cars, which indicates to other drivers around them that an elderly driver is at the wheel. From 75 years of age it is mandatory,” a different reader explained.
“I would support a similar system here as long as appropriate public education was carried out prior to it being introduced,” they added.
While this Drive reader said it’s “time to revisit the idea of M-plates for elderly drivers so that other drivers can be a bit more aware and considerate towards them. Works well with P-platers”.
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