Expert advises 50-year-olds to renew their driving lessons

Australians over 50 could be subject to mandatory driving lessons, a controversial report has suggested.

Research conducted at the University of NSW in Sydney found that drivers with or without clean driving records should be reexamined To make roads safer in Australia.

According to the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics’ Australian road trauma statistical summary, the 17 to 25 age group accounts for 19 per cent of all road deaths and the over-65 age group represents 21 per cent.

However, UNSW Scientia Professor Kaarin Anstey, an expert on cognitive ageing, says common driving mistakes are not always age-related but can arise from long-standing habits formed years ago.

“A lot of these are bad habits that drivers bring with them from their teenage years,” he said.

“We see many people not checking blind spots, not making right turns correctly, not cutting corners, or not maintaining lane position.”

Antsey said 50-year-old drivers should take extra driving lessons as part of “normal life”.

“People naturally ask themselves ‘do I need to update my driving skills?’ “He doesn’t ask.”

“It might be something like when you turn 50 you get invited for an extra driving lesson just to check your driving skills.”

“Right now you only get that if there’s something wrong with your driving,” he said.

At NeuRA, Anstey leads studies aimed at improving older driver safety, most recently through a controlled study called the ‘Better Drive Study’.

The trial involved three groups of drivers aged over 65 who were monitored for 12 months, with each group receiving different levels of support and feedback.

One group was given a refresher on the rules, another group was given video feedback, and the third group was given both video feedback and private driving lessons.

The results have not yet been analysed, but Antsey said it was clear that the intervention could improve the older driver’s performance and road safety.

“We have not yet analyzed our results as we have just completed our final evaluation,” he said.

“But in our very similar pilot study, we found that we shifted a significant portion of people who received our intervention, which included driving lessons and video feedback, from unsafe drivers to safe drivers and reduced their driving errors.”

In NSW, traffic offenses such as speeding, drink driving and street racing can lead to immediate loss of your licence.

But Anstey says an “all or nothing approach” does not work and there is much to be gained from tailored intervention rather than abolishing licences.