The expert suggests 50-year-olds refresh their driving lessons

A controversial report has suggested Australians over 50 could be subject to compulsory driving lessons.

The study from the University of NSW in Sydney suggested drivers, with or without clean driving records, should be re-examined to make Australia’s roads safer.

The 17-25 age group accounts for 19 per cent of all road deaths and over-65s represent 21 per cent, according to the Australian Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Economics Research’s statistical summary of road trauma.

Despite this, UNSW Scientia Professor Kaarin Anstey, an expert in cognitive ageing, says common driving errors are not always age-related, but can stem from old habits formed years ago.

“A lot of these are just bad habits that drivers have carried with them from their younger years,” she said.

“We see too many people who don’t check their blind spots, take right-hand turns, cut corners or maintain their lane position.”

Antsey said drivers up to the age of 50 should complete additional driving lessons as part of “normal life”.

“People don’t naturally ask themselves ‘should I update my driving skills’.”

“It could be something like, when you turn 50, you’re invited to take an extra driving lesson just to check your driving.”

“Right now you would only know if there was something wrong with your driving,” she said.

Anstey has led studies at NeuRA aimed at improving the safety of older drivers, most recently through a controlled study called the ‘Better Car Study’.

The trial involved three groups of drivers aged over 65 who were monitored for 12 months, with each group receiving different levels of support and feedback.

One group had a refresher on the rules, another had video feedback, and the third had video feedback and tailored driving lessons.

The results are still to be analyzed, but Antsey said it was clear the intervention could improve older driver performance and road safety.

“We have not yet analyzed our results as we have just completed our last assessment,” she said.

“But in our pilot study, which was very similar, we found that of the people who had our intervention including driving lessons and video feedback, we switched a significant proportion from unsafe to safe drivers, and reduced errors them in the direction of the vehicle.”

In NSW traffic offences, including speeding, driving under the influence and road racing can result in immediate loss of licence.

But Anstey says the “all or nothing approach” doesn’t work and there is much to be gained from tailored intervention rather than simply removing licences.