Just as going to the doctor to get a check-up is important when you get older, senior residents of Melbourne’s west are being encouraged to give their driving skills a once-over.
The RoadSafe Westgate Community Road Safety Council will be holding a senior drivers expo so that older people can refresh their skills.
Co-ordinator of the older drivers program Leigh Hardinge said senior drivers were frequently falsely represented as being involved in a lot of crashes.
“The evidence tells us that senior drivers are much less likely to be involved in crashes than novice drivers,” Mr Hardinge said.
“Monash University research also tells us that senior drivers are not more likely to cause crashes than younger people.
“[But] the fact that senior drivers, in general, are relatively safe, doesn’t mean that they can’t improve.”
Mr Hardinge said there were many factors that could contribute to an older person being involved in an accident.
“It’s really important for drivers to know what effect their medicines may have on their driving,” he said.
“As we get older, the distances we drive tend to go down. It becomes easier to forget about keeping the car in a roadworthy condition.”
RoadSafe Westgate will be hosting its next senior drivers expo on June 14.
For details call 9315 9464.
The Victorian Community Road Safety Partnership Program has provided contribution funding to support RoadSafe Westgate in addressing local road safety issues within its municipalities.
