Self-regulating older drivers go under microscope to encourage skills and safety

Drivers aged 65 and older will volunteer to be monitored for an extended period to see which testing procedures best catch any dangerous driving indicators, in a project aimed at helping health assessors and licensing authorities better determine who is safe behind the wheel.

Centre for Research on Ageing, Health and Wellbeing researcher Ranmalee Eramudugolla said once you controlled for distance travelled, the young and the old were the population groups that had the greatest crashes.

"Because of this there is a real need to screen and identify people who are unsafe, and find better ways to help them maintain skills for longer," Dr Eramudugolla said.

"We're going to look at different types of driver education, and using technology like GPS and dash cams, we will see how training translates to their own environment."

Drivers aged 60-74 were the most under-represented in the ACT in casualty crashes - those involving an injury or worse - relative to the numbers of licences held last year. Drivers aged 75 and older were more likely to be in such a crash, but were still under-represented, ACT government data showed.

Alison Tieman, 83, from Page, said she drove her car every day and like most elderly people could self-regulate to improve safety on the road.

"I don't drive at night, or not any distance, and I used to always listen to the radio, but then I did stop and I concentrate better on the road," she said.

"I think most older drivers are pretty sensible."

Terry Stewart, 72, lives at a self-care facility in Page and said he was now more conscious of the speed he was going, but driving was a necessity.

"The primary thing with me is pleasure and necessity, we've got to look after grandkids, regularly picking them up in Canberra, and we've got family in both Sydney and Melbourne," he said.

"The bus services are useless [for the elderly], unless you're going to a specific spot - the nearest bus stop is a good half a kilometre away."

Council on the Ageing ACT community education manager Ingrid Pepper said the organisation would begin offering a new Street Smart Seniors education program from later this month, alerting older drivers to potential physical and mental hazards and encouraging self-regulating, which she said they were often good at.

ACT and NSW drivers aged 75 and older must have an annual medical test with their doctor to ensure their competency to drive.

To volunteer for the ANU project, call 61251457 or email crahw.dash@anu.edu.au