Should Drivers Be Retested?

July 25th, 2024

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For most of us, it is a rite of passage as far as becoming an adult – learning how to drive.

Some of us learned how to drive in cars that are, quite frankly, a whole other entity compared with the latest and greatest vehicles on the market today.

In fact, for some drivers, it was before even compulsory features like airbags, anti-lock braking systems (ABS), and other advanced driver aids. Heck, manual was all the go some time ago, and now it is quickly turning into a lost art.

But as all of us come to realise, there are some aspects related to ourselves that change over time. And when we get behind the wheel, this is important, because it affects things like our reaction times, judgement, vision, and so forth.

It raises the question, should drivers be retested at a certain age to ensure they remain competent, capable, and in control of a motor vehicle?

Around Australia, the various states and territories have different approaches to this question, ranging from modified driving licenses, to biannual practical driving tests and annual medical assessments.

But if the country’s population is set to continue ageing, greater consideration needs to be paid to this issue. That’s because fatalities involving road users in older age cohorts have shown concerning signs for some years now.

And if we focus on New South Wales, the system really isn’t all that attuned to the realities out in the real world. Consider, that between when first obtaining your driver’s licence and then facing a mandatory age-related retest, the gap is nearly 70 years. Other states don’t even deal with mandatory retesting, instead deferring to medical assessments, which in some instances, extend to self-assessment.

As to the question of discrimination, let’s not forget that we are a society that seeks to govern to minimise risks to vulnerable age cohorts. And for as long as older drivers are overrepresented in driver fatalities, more needs to be done to protect road users, just as we have done in targeting inexperienced drivers by way of restrictions as soon as they receive their license.