Study Suggests ‘Self-Regulation’ Better Than Mandatory Testing For Older Drivers

A Queensland University Of Technology (QUT) study has found that encouraging older drivers to ‘self-regulate’ their driving posed less problems and was less-discriminatory than age-based testing regimes. 

The university’s Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety Queensland (CARRS-Q), found a person’s age doesn’t necessarily reflect their driving ability, and that testing programs based on age didn’t result in improved road safety.

CARRS-Q’s Dr Ides Wong said age-based testing lacked the ability to properly judge an older driver’s performance.   

public transport reduced the time older drivers needed to spend behind the wheel.

The study found that a gradual decline in driving over a longer period of time reduced the impact on an older driver’s independence when they eventually retired from driving.