The case for and against mandatory age-based assessment of older drivers

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Abstract

The greying of western society, together with older driver’s apparent over-involvement in crashes, have led to a widespread concern about older driver safety and future road casualty levels. For some, the maintenance – and perhaps tightening – of age-based mandatory assessment procedures is seen as an effective countermeasure to the threatened explosion in older driver crashes.

This paper provides an overview of the evidence for and against age-based assessment. The case for regular assessment relies upon older drivers’ apparent over-representation in casualty crashes and the demographic changes that will increase the numbers of older drivers on the road. The case against age-based assessment is multiple: it has no demonstrable road safety benefits; it prompts premature cessation of driving; it prompts older people to use alternative transport modes that are riskier than the private car; and given its dwindling tax base, society will be unable to afford transport options to enable older people to maintain their quality of life.

It was concluded that unsafe drivers can best be identified not through mandatory age-based assessment but through a more strategic approach, relying upon referral only of identified at-risk drivers for multi-tiered assessment.

Introduction

There is no standard approach to the licensing of older drivers. In Europe for example, older drivers in Belgium, France, Germany and Sweden are effectively ‘licensed for life’, whereas in other countries (including Denmark, Italy, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Portugal), older drivers are required to undergo regular assessment to prove their continued fitness to drive – with this assessment starting as early as 45 years of age in Finland (OECD, 2001).

In many countries, older driver licensing practices also vary internally across regional licensing jurisdictions. In Australia for example: at one extreme, States such as New South Wales, Tasmania, Western Australia and South Australia have relatively stringent age-based assessment requirements entailing both medical examinations and on-road driving assessment, whereas the State of Victoria has no regular testing (Fildes et al., 2000). Similar variations exist within the US (Grabowski, Campbell, & Morrisey, 2004).

The aim of this paper is to examine the case for and against mandatory assessment of older drivers, based on the most recent research findings.

Section snippets

An anticipated increase in older driver crashes

The primary case for age-based assessment of fitness to drive is driven by safety considerations. While today’s older drivers are currently involved in few crashes in terms of absolute numbers, they are frequently viewed as over-represented in crashes involving serious injury and death once distance travelled is taken into account (see Fig. 1). The so-called ‘bath tub curve’ has been repeatedly confirmed both in Australia and in most other Western countries.

As alarming as the current crash

Age-based mandatory assessment programs have no demonstrable road safety benefits

One of the first evaluations of the effectiveness of mandatory age-based assessment programs was conducted by Hakamies-Blomqvist, Johansson, and Lundberg (1996) who compared the Finish and Swedish licensing practices. Finland cancels a driver’s licence at age 70 years and requires regular medical checks if the licence is to be reinstated and thereafter renewed, whereas Sweden has no age-related controls. No crash-reduction effects of the Finnish program could be detected compared to Sweden.

An alternative to mandatory age-based assessment

The predicted growth in the proportion of older individuals in most OECD societies and associated shifts in mobility patterns, combine to suggest that there will be a substantial increase in the older driver road safety problem over the next three decades unless appropriate countermeasures are implemented (Hu, Jones, Reuscher, Schmoyer, & Truett, 2000). Providing for on-going, safe mobility of ageing baby boomers will require a rethinking of policies and strategies – including licensing

Summary

The case for age-based assessment of fitness to drive is driven by safety considerations. Older drivers’ apparent over-representation in casualty crashes and demographic changes that will increase the numbers of older drivers on the road, arguably mean a need for mandatory medical and on-road assessment of all older drivers.

The case against age-based assessment of fitness to drive, is multiple: it has no demonstrable road safety benefits; it prompts premature cessation of driving; it prompts

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