As drivers navigate the ever-evolving landscape of Australian roads, a significant shift has emerged that demands attention, particularly for the older demographic.
While the past 25 years have seen a commendable reduction in road fatalities among young people, with numbers halving since 2000, a new concern has arisen: older drivers are currently the most over-represented group in fatal collisions nationwide.
This stark reality is underscored by recent data from Road Safety Education Limited (RSE), which reveals that drivers aged 85 and older are disproportionately affected by fatal crashes.
John Elliott, Head of Program Delivery at RSE, shared with Yahoo that these figures are a testament to the effectiveness of road safety education. However, they also shine a light on the reported challenges that come with age, such as the diminished ability to identify and react to hazards and a decreased capacity to withstand the physical trauma of road accidents.
Elliott emphasises that the statistics do not suggest older drivers are more reckless; rather, they are more vulnerable to road trauma in relation to the number of actual license holders.
‘As does the body’s capacity to survive the physical trauma that is inflicted in road crashes. This exposes older drivers to additional risks, especially in settings such as lower speed roads and complex intersections, compared to younger drivers,’ he explains.
The good news is that ‘young drivers are making safer choices,’ contributing to a continued decline in youth fatalities, which fell another 6 per cent from 321 to 302 in the past year. For the fourth consecutive year, young drivers accounted for less than 20 per cent of road deaths, a significant drop from 28 per cent in 2004.
Despite this progress, male drivers between the ages of 18 and 20, remain significantly over-represented in road trauma. Research shows they are 2.6 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash compared to the general population in 2024.
The RSE data also sheds light on the fact that over 50 per cent of vehicle occupant fatalities occur on roads with speed limits of 100km/h or higher.
Furthermore, young drivers in regional and remote areas are still up to eight times more likely to be involved in fatal crashes than those in metropolitan areas.
A new study published in the journal Injury predicts that older drivers (above 65 years old) will continue to be the greatest risk on the roads for the next 30 years.
‘We expect older drivers whose driving ability has declined, and male drivers, especially motorcyclists, will continue to be at the greatest risk of becoming a fatality statistic,’ said Dr Soltani, health researcher at Flinders University.
‘In contrast, we anticipate a much quicker drop in women driver fatalities, which could point to the more high-risk driving behaviours characterised by men.’
As we confront the alarming rate of road deaths, experts are advocating for lowered default speed limits, which in some jurisdictions reach a staggering 110km/h—one of the highest default limits globally.
Teresa Senserrick, director of the WA Centre for Road Safety Research, is among those calling for reduced speed limits, arguing that such a change could save hundreds of lives and prevent thousands of injuries.
‘Modelling shows that the one decision has resulted in hundreds of lives lost and thousands of injuries on our roads that could have been avoided,’ she previously told Yahoo, citing how road fatalities have surged by 170 per cent in just a year in places like the Northern Territory.
Compared to everywhere else in the country where the default limit is 100 km/h, the default speed in the Territory, and in Western Australia, is 110 km/h when there are no signs enforcing a speed limit.
We invite our readers to share their experiences and thoughts on this pressing issue. Do you agree that driving abilities change with age? What measures do you think could improve road safety for older drivers? Join the conversation in the comments below.
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I believe older drivers with old cars should upgrade to new vehicles. These new vehicles have updated safety features that are necessary for today’s faster pace driving.
I recently purchased my first NEW car, a Suzuki Swift, which I found easier and safer compared to my 10yo Mazda 3. Rear camera and digital speedometer are absolutely essential for today’s fast driving roads.
It would be good to do so, but many seniors are unable to buy a new car due to their limited, finite financial resources.
Data isn’t picking up the real life situations that confront elderly drivers when they are on the road. I am approaching what could be considered elderly (67 this year). I drive country roads for my groceries and other shopping on the smaller arterial roads and not highways. During each trip I take my life in my hands as I am confronted by younger drivers either straddling unbroken centre lines or even fully on my side of the road in blind corners. Older drivers can take longer to react than younger drivers can but that does not mean the older driver is the cause, rather their accident can very easily be the result of negligence by someone younger.
On the road to Braidwood just outside of Tarago I have had, just a couple of minute apart, 2 cars driven by far younger people speeding up behind me and overtake me crossing the double unbroken lines to do so – one of them just before a bend. I had put the dash cam video on FB. Some people had the hide to accuse me of going too slow and claim the stretch of road had a 100km speed limit. They were wrong as I was vey close to the speed limit of 80kph. They were also justifying people overtaking and crossing the unbroken lines to do so making claims such as “they do so safely”! I wonder if such road idiots understand the reason for the unbroken lines? Only a couple of weeks later and on the same section of road another car did the same thing. Local people say it’s a common occurrence and that ACT drivers are the main culprits.
Driving limits have not actually become faster. Before going metric in 1974 speed limits were 60mph and 35mph which, when converted became 100kph and 60kph. Driver behaviour is the biggest change, with the faster pace of life and everyone in a hurry. Tailgating, Inappropriate Overtaking, impatience, Unsafe merging. Merging becomes much safer when vehicles are appropriately spaced, no one should have to slow down to merge. Older people may become involved in more accidents, but I’m sure that is, more often than not, the fault of an impatient driver. I have been driving for 60 years and have only had 1 accident, 59 years ago when a driver failed to give way to the right (which was a law back then). ‘Better to be late than Dead on Time’. Used to be on signs on Highways.