Article: Drive for closer eye on older drivers

[ozbob]

From the Brisbanetimes click here!

Drive for closer eye on older drivers

Drive for closer eye on older drivers
September 29, 2012 Katherine Feeney

Closer monitoring of older drivers including yearly medical checks are among a raft of recommendations to be handed to Transport Minister Scott Emerson on Monday by the committee established in the wake of bad press for seniors behind the wheel.

But any changes to legislation proposed by the Older Driver Safety Advisory Committee will have widespread ramifications.

Department figures show the number of people who hold open car licences in Brisbane aged 75 or over have increased over the past five years, jumping from 26,869 people in August 2008 to 29,807 last month.

A number of those drivers use their licences for work; five of Brisbane's 2245 bus drivers are over 75 years of age (the city's oldest bus operator is 79), and the city's two major cab companies report authorised older drivers are very valuable.

"We even launched a campaign to recruit them," Black and White Cabs general manager John Tighe said.

"[Drivers over 75] play a valuable part in our business, providing they meet our standards and comply with legislation.

"They're often very competent, reliable and good with our customers."

There's one driver for Yellow Cabs "well into his 80s," a spokeswoman said, putting the cabbie at a similar age to positive ageing advocate and 85 year-old licensee Val French.

An Older Driver Safety Advisory Committee member and president of Older People Speak Out, Ms French is in favour of yearly medical checks, but warns controlling seniors too tightly will gravely impact communities.

"Queensland has always been short sighted as far as old people are concerned," she said, and added the problem would only get worse as the population aged.

"But the whole thing boils down to the fact that we're facing a whole generation that is living longer and growing older, and then you've got the baby boomers coming a long – and they're a huge mob – that's going to have a huge impact.

"And we have to ask, 'are we going to be able to keep on driving, or are we going to be sitting at home, lonely and going to rot?'.

"There's nothing worse than having an older population sitting at home, and if you can't get out and about and live a normal life – and that's what we could face with greater restrictions on older drivers – we're going to end up with a health system unnecessarily overburdened by old people."

Though Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows, at an average 34.2 years old, the population of greater Brisbane is younger than the state average of 38.1, the median age has been climbing since 2001 and the proportion of people aged 65 years or older has increased slightly from 11 to 12 per cent.

Also rising is the average age of open licence holders in Brisbane. Across all seven licence categories, the average age has risen from 47.75 five years ago to 48.71 as at August. The same Department of Transport and Main Roads figures show truck drivers with open HC licences were the oldest on average (56.6), though most drivers hold car licences where the average age is younger (42).

This trend is reflected in the age of bus operators employed by Brisbane City Council; they were 49.69 on average in 2008, but 51 and more than 6 per cent of the workforce is aged 65 and over.

Public Transport chairman Peter Matic said it was driving and customer service skills the council focused on, not age.

"Our bus drivers provide an essential service and now make up about a quarter of all council staff," Cr Matic said.

"We pride ourselves on being an employer of choice and encourage people of various ages to consider driving our buses as we provide them with the highest levels of training and support."

It's a similar approach at Queensland Rail, where the only age restrictions enforced are those set by the DTMR, which requires all drivers over 75 to carry a doctor-issued medical certificate. Depending on the driver, these certificates may be valid anywhere from one month to five years.

Ms French said certificates requiring annual renewals could be one of the best ways to address problems associated with older drivers, without too severely curtailing their lifestyles and rights as citizens.

Such problems came to light recently when Kerryn Blucher, 33, and her unborn child, Olivia, were fatally struck down at the Redland Springs Festival by a 76-year-old female driver.

Transport Scott Emerson said in a statement older drivers were not over-represented in crash statistics, with 4.4 per cent of licence holders over the age of 75 being involved in about 2.7 per cent of all crashes.

"However there are 160,000 license holders over the age of 75 in Queensland and as that number increases it is important that we continue to ensure our laws and guidelines are best practice," he said.

But Ms French said it was important to remember there were a lot of people over 75 who had nothing wrong with them.

"The thing is that if you don't have something the matter with you, and you've had your test, but you don't have to go again for five years, during that period anything could go the matter with you," she said.

"We should not let people over 75 stop having that test – you should be having that proper test at your birthday every year – especially when you consider that, as the population ages, people are probably going to be healthier at 75 than they would be now.

"The baby boomer generation are certainly unlike my generation that grew up during the depression and the war, and the general belief is that they will live longer and healthier lives."

But Ms French said, if more stringent controls were introduced, they would only be workable against a public transport system that better caters to seniors.

Compared to Sydney, Ms French said public transport pricing in Brisbane was far from friendly to older users – despite being able to travel at a discounted rate, there is no flat fee price for daily travel for seniors, which makes multiple journeys an expensive exercise.

New South Wales also has different licensing restrictions to Queensland. Following a review in 2008, the age drivers were required to submit to medical check-ups was reduced from 80 to 75.

Practical driving assessments every two for drivers from the age of 85 were also introduced, but drivers were given the option of obtaining a modified licence, which work on radius restrictions among others.

In Victoria, licences for drivers over 75 may only be renewed up to three years, and medical assessments are voluntary.

"We had a much better system of public transport about ten years ago than we do now," Ms French said.

"We were able to use our [Commonwealth Seniors] card and it didn't cost much at all – but that's all changed and it's one of the things seniors are feeling really hard-done-by about.

"If you go to Sydney, I can use my ordinary discount card and for $2.50 I can go to Manly, and I can go there on the ferry, and then travel from the ferry up to the railway station and right up to Newcastle if I want – it's all the same price for the day.

"As a result, older people in Sydney have a really good quality of life for the simple reason they know it's not going to cost them the earth to go out with their friends even if they aren't fit to drive.

"That's the way a city should be – Brisbane doesn't take care of their old people."

Mr Emerson said the findings from the expert committee would be open for public feedback.

In making their recommendations, the panel looked at a number of reports, including recommendations from respected Queensland organisations RACQ and CARRS-Q.

"The panel includes members from groups representing seniors, police, medical experts, motoring groups, academics and the Department of Transport and Main Roads," Mr Emerson said.

"For example, the older driver committee is looking at the involvement of family members in the decision making process.

"I personally support and encourage family members to contact their doctor if they are concerned about a senior relative's ability to drive, but the decision should rest with the driver and their medical specialists."

Some of the other recommendation being considered by the panel include:

    Better information for GPs and doctors to suggest driving restrictions.
    More education awareness for older drivers
    Annual medical checks and the age of requiring a medical certificate.
    Reporting of medical conditions.
    Legal protection for professions such as occupational therapists, optometrists or physiotherapists to report older drivers.

Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/drive-for-closer-eye-on-older-drivers-20120928-26qgo.html#ixzz27oaaFWXv

... "We had a much better system of public transport about ten years ago than we do now," Ms French said.

"We were able to use our [Commonwealth Seniors] card and it didn't cost much at all – but that's all changed and it's one of the things seniors are feeling really hard-done-by about.

"If you go to Sydney, I can use my ordinary discount card and for $2.50 I can go to Manly, and I can go there on the ferry, and then travel from the ferry up to the railway station and right up to Newcastle if I want – it's all the same price for the day.

"As a result, older people in Sydney have a really good quality of life for the simple reason they know it's not going to cost them the earth to go out with their friends even if they aren't fit to drive.

"That's the way a city should be – Brisbane doesn't take care of their old people." ...

Spot on Val!

[Gazza]

I think $2.50 is too cheap though, seniors fares need to be at a happy median. Not as dirt cheap as Sydney, but at the same time better value than Brisbane (Though 1, 2 Free is very good)

[somebody]

My major issue with the Sydney PET is that it is valid in peak hour, particularly the AM peak.  It shouldn't be.