Mandatory older driver testing exists in just two jurisdictions worldwide including New South Wales. The system is in dire need of a reviewFor the past 10 years, CPSA has campaigned to improve the fairness and transparency of the older driver testing system in New South Wales.
Unlike all other states and territories, and all other jurisdictions in the world except for Illinois, USA, NSW has mandatory on-road testing for drivers aged 85 and over.
What are the older driver testing requirements in NSW?
In NSW, drivers aged 75 and over require a medical assessment from a GP to ensure that they are still safe to drive. Certain medical conditions, including some forms of dementia, can result in GPs recommending that a driver has their licence cancelled. A doctor may also recommend an on-road test to assess whether a medical condition impacts someone’s driving ability.
At age 85, NSW drivers continue to require a yearly medical check from their GP, but must also take a mandatory on-road driving test every two years in order to keep their unrestricted licence. Here’s where things get a little complicated.
Drivers can take this test for free at a Service NSW centre, but if they need to re-sit the test because they have not passed, they are only allowed a total of three attempts. However, they can also pay an accredited older driver assessor who can come to their home and conduct an on-road test in their local area. If drivers choose to pay an assessor rather than visiting a service centre, they can re-sit the test as many times as they need to unless they commit a ‘Serious Fail’ during the assessment.
‘Serious Fails’
According to the Transport for NSW ‘Guide to Older Driver Licensing’, any driving behaviour that represents an immediate danger to the driver or other road users is deemed a ‘Serious Fail’. Committing a Serious Fail during a driving test with either a Service NSW assessor or an accredited older driver assessor will result in the driver having their licence revoked. While this decision can be appealed in a Local Court, if the court then agrees with the assessor’s decision the licence will remain cancelled. CPSA has been informed by the NSW Minister for Roads that after an older driver’s licence is cancelled due to a Serious Fail, they are unable to reapply for their licence in the future.
If NSW drivers are concerned about doing an older driver test or do not need to drive frequently or far, then they can also opt to switch to a ‘modified licence’.
Modified licence
Drivers aged 85 and over can apply to switch to a modified licence that limits the distance that they are allowed to drive, but which does not require them to take an older driver test every two years. Early medical checks are still required though, and if a doctor has recommended that someone switch to a modified licence then an on-road test will still be required.
Modified licence holders are limited to only driving within a certain radius of their home, as agreed to by the local Service NSW centre. This limit could be 5, 10 or 15km for people in non-rural areas. For drivers in rural areas whose nearest town is outside of a 15km radius, this limit can be amended to allow them to drive to their nearest town.
If a driver opts for a modified licence but then changes their mind, they are able to regain their unrestricted licence after completing an on-road test.
Should NSW change the rules for older drivers?
Western Australia and Tasmania previously required all older drivers above a certain age to take on-road tests, but both states have since removed this requirement. WA opted to end the requirements after finding that the tests were based on misconceptions about the ability of older drivers, and that the testing requirement was potentially discriminatory.
Likewise, Tasmania decided to stop mandating on-road testing for older drivers in 2011 after the Tasmanian Anti-Discrimination Commissioner found that the requirement breached the state’s Anti-Discrimination Act.
By contrast, the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act has an explicit carve-out for older driver testing. This means that, unlike in WA and Tasmania, NSW’s testing requirements do not breach the law because the law has been written specifically to allow them.
Despite the decisions by WA and Tasmania to abolish mandatory older driver testing, the NSW Government has consistently rejected calls to change the rules for older drivers. In two separate reviews published in 2018, one conducted by the Joint Standing Committee on Road Safety, and the other by Transport for NSW Centre for Road Safety, the NSW Government opted to leave the system unchanged.
Transport for NSW’s review argued that “the current NSW licensing approach continues to balance the quality of life for older drivers with road safety for the community”. Likewise, the Joint Committee argued that the current older driver testing rules are “robust and defensible, and to recommend its alteration into a less robust system would be retrograde”.
However, there is little evidence to show that these rules actually make the roads safer. When debating whether to implement a similar testing system in Queensland, a spokesperson for Transport and Main Roads Queensland told ABC News that “Research shows that additional testing of existing licence holders does not provide an accurate assessment of a person’s driving behaviour in a ‘non-test’ driving environment”.
Given that NSW is the only state with such a system, it should be easy to compare crash statistics between states to show the effectiveness of older driver testing. However, neither of the 2018 reviews did this. It’s high time that NSW undertook a serious, independent review into its older driver testing system that considers all available evidence, not just ageist assumptions.
For the past 10 years, CPSA has campaigned to improve the fairness and transparency of the older driver testing system in New South Wales.
Unlike all other states and territories, and all other jurisdictions in the world except for Illinois, USA, NSW has mandatory on-road testing for drivers aged 85 and over.
What are the older driver testing requirements in NSW?
In NSW, drivers aged 75 and over require a medical assessment from a GP to ensure that they are still safe to drive. Certain medical conditions, including some forms of dementia, can result in GPs recommending that a driver has their licence cancelled. A doctor may also recommend an on-road test to assess whether a medical condition impacts someone’s driving ability.
At age 85, NSW drivers continue to require a yearly medical check from their GP, but must also take a mandatory on-road driving test every two years in order to keep their unrestricted licence. Here’s where things get a little complicated.
Drivers can take this test for free at a Service NSW centre, but if they need to re-sit the test because they have not passed, they are only allowed a total of three attempts. However, they can also pay an accredited older driver assessor who can come to their home and conduct an on-road test in their local area. If drivers choose to pay an assessor rather than visiting a service centre, they can re-sit the test as many times as they need to unless they commit a ‘Serious Fail’ during the assessment.
‘Serious Fails’
According to the Transport for NSW ‘Guide to Older Driver Licensing’, any driving behaviour that represents an immediate danger to the driver or other road users is deemed a ‘Serious Fail’. Committing a Serious Fail during a driving test with either a Service NSW assessor or an accredited older driver assessor will result in the driver having their licence revoked. While this decision can be appealed in a Local Court, if the court then agrees with the assessor’s decision the licence will remain cancelled. CPSA has been informed by the NSW Minister for Roads that after an older driver’s licence is cancelled due to a Serious Fail, they are unable to reapply for their licence in the future.
If NSW drivers are concerned about doing an older driver test or do not need to drive frequently or far, then they can also opt to switch to a ‘modified licence’.
Modified licence
Drivers aged 85 and over can apply to switch to a modified licence that limits the distance that they are allowed to drive, but which does not require them to take an older driver test every two years. Early medical checks are still required though, and if a doctor has recommended that someone switch to a modified licence then an on-road test will still be required.
Modified licence holders are limited to only driving within a certain radius of their home, as agreed to by the local Service NSW centre. This limit could be 5, 10 or 15km for people in non-rural areas. For drivers in rural areas whose nearest town is outside of a 15km radius, this limit can be amended to allow them to drive to their nearest town.
If a driver opts for a modified licence but then changes their mind, they are able to regain their unrestricted licence after completing an on-road test.
Should NSW change the rules for older drivers?
Western Australia and Tasmania previously required all older drivers above a certain age to take on-road tests, but both states have since removed this requirement. WA opted to end the requirements after finding that the tests were based on misconceptions about the ability of older drivers, and that the testing requirement was potentially discriminatory.
Likewise, Tasmania decided to stop mandating on-road testing for older drivers in 2011 after the Tasmanian Anti-Discrimination Commissioner found that the requirement breached the state’s Anti-Discrimination Act.
By contrast, the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act has an explicit carve-out for older driver testing. This means that, unlike in WA and Tasmania, NSW’s testing requirements do not breach the law because the law has been written specifically to allow them.
Despite the decisions by WA and Tasmania to abolish mandatory older driver testing, the NSW Government has consistently rejected calls to change the rules for older drivers. In two separate reviews published in 2018, one conducted by the Joint Standing Committee on Road Safety, and the other by Transport for NSW Centre for Road Safety, the NSW Government opted to leave the system unchanged.
Transport for NSW’s review argued that “the current NSW licensing approach continues to balance the quality of life for older drivers with road safety for the community”. Likewise, the Joint Committee argued that the current older driver testing rules are “robust and defensible, and to recommend its alteration into a less robust system would be retrograde”.
However, there is little evidence to show that these rules actually make the roads safer. When debating whether to implement a similar testing system in Queensland, a spokesperson for Transport and Main Roads Queensland told ABC News that “Research shows that additional testing of existing licence holders does not provide an accurate assessment of a person’s driving behaviour in a ‘non-test’ driving environment”.
Given that NSW is the only state with such a system, it should be easy to compare crash statistics between states to show the effectiveness of older driver testing. However, neither of the 2018 reviews did this. It’s high time that NSW undertook a serious, independent review into its older driver testing system that considers all available evidence, not just ageist assumptions.
