Veterans of the road win their freedomOlder drivers are free to drive as far from home as they like. Proposals to restrict them to a 10km radius are now just a bad dream.
The NSW Government has passed new rules, which recognise that the vast majority of older drivers have many years’ experience and good driving records.
While drivers aged 75 and over (down from 80) must now pass an annual medical examination, they no longer face the prospect of choosing between a driving test or the 10km restriction. Instead, from age 85 they can volunteer for a self-funded driving assessment every two years in a familiar environment by an RTA-accredited instructor, or opt for a free RTA test. The details of this softer approach are explained in our older drivers story.
NRMA worked hard for this result through constant talks and campaigning with the government, RTA and others.
I have seen all the letters older motorists sent to Open Road over the past seven months objecting to the “threats” (as they called them) in the government’s discussion paper. I was specially moved by the personal stories of competent, healthy veterans of the road who had failed their annual test on a technicality. Beyond the humiliation of the actual failure, these good people were devastated by life-changing consequences they did not deserve.
The new rules will end most of this anxiety and disappointment, and hopefully see many older drivers back behind the wheel doing what they do exceptionally well - driving their own cars wherever they want to go.
Somehow, somewhere, someone came up with the idea of S plates for seniors. And somehow someone incorrectly blamed the concept on NRMA. We have never advocated S plates - and S plates have certainly never been on the agenda for older drivers.
L and P plates have worked on our roads as a signal for other drivers to show consideration towards inexperienced drivers - although sometimes, when a P-plater passes me at around 200km/h, I wonder if this consideration is misplaced. Incidentally, I can’t ever recall a senior driver overtaking me at such deadly speed.
The whole plate thing is in danger of getting out of control. I’m sure there is a list of plate ideas hidden in the computer of some bureaucrat who can’t wait to turn our roads into alphabet soup.
I’m already struggling with the green P plate. Whenever I ask my daughter if she’s put her green Ps on the car, I have this vision of a car smeared with green peas. Maybe Edgel should start making P plates. Maybe Greenpeace should start sponsoring green Ps.
I have heard suggestions for B plates to indicate baby on board, T plates for toddlers and even D plates for dogs.
People who have had previous convictions for dangerous driving could have M plates for maniac. A previous conviction for drink driving could get you a D for drunkard.
In the end, in a world gone mad, everyone could be required to have some kind of plate on their car. And people with no reason to have a plate could just sport a blank one.
Open Road is now a monthly publication, but you may have missed the last issue. That’s because it wasn’t printed. This was deliberate. While Open Road as a magazine will continue to be printed every second month, a digital edition is now published every month on the Open Road website. For those of you with internet access (the vast majority of NRMA Members), getting every issue is as easy as typing openroad.com.au/emag into your browser.
Check out the April e-zine. Here’s the cover and contents page (above). As it says, reading this “survival” issue could save your life.
We can email you a link to the e-zine every month. All you have to do is register for the NRMA newsletter at mynrma.com.au/newsletter.
David Naylor Editor-in-chief
