INCREASING numbers of older drivers are on the roads but too little is being done to help them drive safely, says the NRMA.
In a discussion paper, Let Miss Daisy Do The Driving, the motoring organisation says baby boomers will be the first generation to have been dependent on a car for their entire lives.
"They will be even less likely than the current generation of older drivers to give up the car because both men and women have been so dependent on it," said the author, Anne Morphett.
She said relatively simple changes would help older people maintain their mobility for longer. Having larger and simpler street signs placed well before intersections, exit ramps and streets would be a great help to ageing eyes.
Having more dedicated right-turn lanes and signals would help reduce one of the most common causes of crashes involving drivers aged 80 and over - the right turn across oncoming traffic.
And car manufacturers needed to build cars suitable for older people.
Ms Morphett, the NRMA's senior policy adviser, said a rethink of public transport was also needed to make it more attractive to elderly people. Over the coming years a large proportion of the population would lose the ability to drive.
An NRMA director, Graham Blight, said many moved to smaller coastal communities when they were mobile. But they could be stranded if they later became unable to drive in places without alternative transport.
"Government policy makers seem to have missed the point that driving a car is the easiest form of travel for older people with diminishing physical skills," the paper says.
The paper says older drivers pose less risk than other age groups; wear seat belts and avoid driving when tired or after drinking; and are rarely involved in risky high-speed driving.
Copyright © 2008. The Sydney Morning Herald.
December 11, 2008
AUSTRALIA: We'll drive into old age, with a little bit of help
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SYDNEY, Australia / Sydney Morning Herald / December 11, 2008
By Adele Horin
Photo: Cathy Wilcox
INCREASING numbers of older drivers are on the roads but too little is being done to help them drive safely, says the NRMA.
In a discussion paper, Let Miss Daisy Do The Driving, the motoring organisation says baby boomers will be the first generation to have been dependent on a car for their entire lives.
"They will be even less likely than the current generation of older drivers to give up the car because both men and women have been so dependent on it," said the author, Anne Morphett.
She said relatively simple changes would help older people maintain their mobility for longer. Having larger and simpler street signs placed well before intersections, exit ramps and streets would be a great help to ageing eyes.
Having more dedicated right-turn lanes and signals would help reduce one of the most common causes of crashes involving drivers aged 80 and over - the right turn across oncoming traffic.
And car manufacturers needed to build cars suitable for older people.
Ms Morphett, the NRMA's senior policy adviser, said a rethink of public transport was also needed to make it more attractive to elderly people. Over the coming years a large proportion of the population would lose the ability to drive.
An NRMA director, Graham Blight, said many moved to smaller coastal communities when they were mobile. But they could be stranded if they later became unable to drive in places without alternative transport.
"Government policy makers seem to have missed the point that driving a car is the easiest form of travel for older people with diminishing physical skills," the paper says.
The paper says older drivers pose less risk than other age groups; wear seat belts and avoid driving when tired or after drinking; and are rarely involved in risky high-speed driving.
Copyright © 2008. The Sydney Morning Herald.
INCREASING numbers of older drivers are on the roads but too little is being done to help them drive safely, says the NRMA.
In a discussion paper, Let Miss Daisy Do The Driving, the motoring organisation says baby boomers will be the first generation to have been dependent on a car for their entire lives.
"They will be even less likely than the current generation of older drivers to give up the car because both men and women have been so dependent on it," said the author, Anne Morphett.
She said relatively simple changes would help older people maintain their mobility for longer. Having larger and simpler street signs placed well before intersections, exit ramps and streets would be a great help to ageing eyes.
Having more dedicated right-turn lanes and signals would help reduce one of the most common causes of crashes involving drivers aged 80 and over - the right turn across oncoming traffic.
And car manufacturers needed to build cars suitable for older people.
Ms Morphett, the NRMA's senior policy adviser, said a rethink of public transport was also needed to make it more attractive to elderly people. Over the coming years a large proportion of the population would lose the ability to drive.
An NRMA director, Graham Blight, said many moved to smaller coastal communities when they were mobile. But they could be stranded if they later became unable to drive in places without alternative transport.
"Government policy makers seem to have missed the point that driving a car is the easiest form of travel for older people with diminishing physical skills," the paper says.
The paper says older drivers pose less risk than other age groups; wear seat belts and avoid driving when tired or after drinking; and are rarely involved in risky high-speed driving.
Copyright © 2008. The Sydney Morning Herald.
