Bigger and better signs pushed for older drivers
Relatively simple roadside changes such as larger street signs well before intersections and upcoming streets would provide real value to older drivers on Australian roads according to a NSW National Roads and Motorists’ Association (NRMA) senior policy adviser.
In a paper titled ‘Let Miss Daisy do the Driving’ Anne Morphett said that baby boomers were the first generation to have been fully dependent on a car for their entire lives.
“They will be even less likely than the current generation of older drivers to give up the car because both men and women have been so dependent on it.”
Ms Morphett said that the relatively simple sign changes would help older people maintain their mobility for longer. She also recommended more dedicated right-turn lanes and signals that would help reduce one of the most common causes of crashes for drivers 80 and over – the right turn across oncoming traffic.
The NRMA said that “government policy makers seem to have missed the point that driving a car is the easiest form of travel for older people with diminishing physical skills”.
NRMA director, Graham Blight, said that many baby boomers moved to smaller coastal communities while they were still mobile but could be left stranded if later unable to drive when there was a lack of alternative public transport.
