Plan needed for elderly road risks

On September 6, 2015, an Oamaru woman, 81, failed to stop for a 15-year-old schoolgirl on a pedestrian crossing. As a result, the girl spent eight days in Dunedin Hospital, recovering from a chipped vertebra, compound fracture to her right ankle and a broken left tibia.

This accident was not an isolated one. To quote the New Zealand Transport Agency:

‘‘Age increases the risk of older drivers being involved in a crash. [Age-related] changes may be physical or they may be changes to memory and thinking. Older drivers don’t have as many crashes as young drivers. However, if involved in a crash, older passengers and drivers are far more likely to be killed or injured. With the same impact force, the fatality rate is approximately three times higher for a 75-year-old motor vehicle occupant than for an 18-year-old one.’’

In 2014, road users aged over 60 (including pedestrians, cyclists and passengers) made up 83 of the 294 total fatalities for that year.

That’s over a quarter of the road toll. In the same year, 58 out of a total of 401 drivers involved in fatal crashes were aged over 65.

By comparison, in 2001, at the peak of the mass ‘boy racer’ phenomenon, boy racers were linked to just seven deaths.

Drivers aged 60 aren’t a particularly high risk, but the risk grows dramatically with age.

According to US research, based on the distance travelled, by the time a driver is 85, the risk of their dying on the roads is about the same as a teenager.

Young drivers drive further than old drivers, especially at night, so they get involved in many more accidents. However, overseas studies suggest if an 85-year-old driver and an 18-yearold driver make the same one kilometre trip, the 85-year-old faces a greater risk of crashing and about the same risk of dying.

Many elderly drivers modify their driving to minimise risk as they age. So, in theory, if an elderly driver drives only during the day, avoids motorways and drives only short distances, they are a lower risk. However, there’s a catch.

Because age-related health issues are gradual, the driver concerned may be unaware that any significant changes have taken place.

Therefore, they may have an unrealistic understanding of their ability to safely travel.

For example, on January 11, 2016, an elderly Timaru man drove onto a footpath, hitting three pedestrians, killing one.

The simple fact is: most people are going to reach a point where it’s no longer safe for them to drive. We should plan for this point, just as we plan for our retirement.

But it’s not just a question of stopping unsafe drivers.

There have to be safe and comfortable alternatives to driving.

Walking can be both uncomfortable and dangerous for the elderly.

On most of our roads, pedestrians are second-class citizens, forced to take long detours to cross the road safely.

Public transport is often just as bad; bus stops are poorly positioned, and may require old people to cross busy roads to use them. Bus stops often lack shelter from the weather.

While the government subsidises taxis for some old people, the cost is still very high if you’re on a budget. And worse, the government is seeking to cap the amount of money used to subsidise old people’s travel.

None of these problems is unsolvable, but we can’t begin to solve a problem until we acknowledge it.

Loneliness is a huge problem for the over 75s. Many elderly folk fear losing their licence because they fear isolation from friends and family.

And so, old people keep driving and old people keep dying, often unnecessarily.

And, by and large, the government just pretends it isn’t happening.

Clive Matthew-wilson is the editor of The Dog and Lemon Guide.