Older drivers are overrepresented in South Australia’s road toll, prompting the state’s police to run safety courses in a bid to refresh its senior motorists’ driving skills.
On March 27, South Australia Police will hold two free sessions at its new Road Safety Centre in West Beach, focusing on keeping road users up to date with road rules.
Targeted at motorists aged 70 years old and over but open for licence holders of all ages, the road safety courses will also assess participants’ fitness to drive.
South Australia Police says it wants to “reduce the overrepresentation of older road users becoming the victims of road trauma by educating them on Australian road rules and what may have changed; sharing the road [and] the fatal five causes of road trauma”.
It also wants to educate older residents on “options other than driving, pedestrian safety, [and] safety using electric mobility devices”.
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Last year, 88 motorists lost their lives on South Australian roads, with 38 of those killed aged 65 years or older – more than 43 per cent of the total.
This is significantly higher than the national average, with 25 per cent of road users killed in Australia last year being 65 years or older, representing 327 of 1324 fatalities.
It’s not the first time South Australia has tried to help keep its older drivers up to date, with the South Australia Council on the Ageing previously running the Moving Right Along program.
ABC News reports more than 2500 motorists used this driver education program until 2019, when the then-South Australian Government pulled its reported $100,000 per year funding from the program.
The announcement of the police-run course comes just a handful of months after a 97-year-old South Australian woman made headlines after she failed two practical driving tests and fought for her licence to be reinstated.
South Australia requires motorists aged 85 or above to take an annual practical driving test, with a fail recorded if 20 or more points are amassed. The woman reportedly scored 182 points in her first test and 128 in the second, leading to a licence suspension.
While this was appealed before the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (SACAT), the ruling was upheld, despite her grandson/representative claiming the practical test assessor’s “determinations were primarily based on, or at least influenced by, the applicant’s age.”
MORE: 97-year-old Australian fights to keep driver’s licence after two failed tests
