Queensland’s Older Driver Safety Review

It is projected that the number of older Australians aged 75 years and over will increase to 11.4% of the population by 2031, up from 6.2% in 2007. This will result in an increase in the number of older drivers, who will either seek to maintain the mobility provided by the car, or need to make decisions about giving up driving and moving to other transport modes. It is therefore expected that older drivers will make up an increasing proportion of the road toll in the future. The Queensland Government convened an expert panel, the Older Driver Safety Advisory Committee, to provide input to the development of appropriate policies and initiatives to improve older driver safety in Queensland. To assist the Committee, the Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety – Queensland (CARRS-Q) was engaged to provide a research report on older driver safety, including: a detailed literature review; comparison of policies in other jurisdictions; a review of Queensland crash statistics; and identification of potential evidence-based initiatives for improving older driver safety in Queensland. The Committee reviewed the research report and agreed upon 26 recommendations relating to all aspects of the Safe System model. These recommendations, along with the research report, were released for public consultation. This paper summarises the key results of the work of the Older Driver Safety Advisory Committee and public consultation process, with a focus on issues identified as being important factors in any decision making process regarding older driver safety policy development.