Record number of seniors banned from driving In Victoria
Record numbers of senior drivers are having their licence cancelled – with 57 losing their right to drive each day.
The numbers are increasing, with 21,014 drivers’ licences suspended or cancelled after failing a VicRoads medical this financial year. This is up by 1,269 from the previous year.
Some drivers are also being put on restricted licences, such as only being able to drive in daylight or in their own neighbourhood. The Sunday Herald Sun revealed there are as many as 94,182 drivers aged over 71 on restricted licences, and 71 per cent of people who had their licences taken away for medical reasons were seniors.
For drivers over the age of 75, VicRoads request that licences are renewed every three years in a bid to encourage drivers to assess their ability to keep driving. Despite the VicRoads policy, police say there is no evidence that mandatory licence testing for older drivers would lead to improvements in safety.
Ben Radisich is a Victoria Police spokesman and said that the public should be keeping an eye on elderly relatives to see if they are still fit to drive.
“As a community we need to be prepared to have a difficult conversation with the older drivers in our lives if we believe they are a risk to themselves or others on the road,” he said.
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