NOVEMBER 2004

Older Driver Licensing Review Announced

The older driver licensing system, which requires people, aged 80 and over to renew their licence every two years is to be reviewed, Minister for Transport Safety Harry Duynhoven announced on 17 October 2004.

Led by the Ministry of Transport, the Review of Older Driver Licensing will be conducted in association with interest groups representing older people — including Grey Power and the NZ Returned Services Association — medical associations and transport organisations. The Ministry of Transport is due to report back to the Minister in June 2005.
The Review will take a long-term look at licensing policy for older people.

The Minister also expressed his support for several changes to the current system, which could be introduced next year. These include the option of a conditional licence, which would allow older people to drive within a 10km radius of their home.

The proposed amendment to the Driver Licensing Rule will also provide for two other changes: extension of the time allowed for older people to renew their licence from 60 days to six months before its expiry, and removal of the “automatic only” condition. This means, in the future, older people who sit their licence in an automatic transmission vehicle will be able to drive either an automatic or manual vehicle, instead of being limited to an automatic only. It is anticipated that these policy changes will be approved early next year and introduced later in 2005. “As part of the New Zealand Transport Strategy, the government is committed to improving access and mobility,” Mr Duynhoven said.

“We realise that for many older people the ability to drive is the key to continued independence — losing their licence can have a profound impact on their lives. At the same time, we have to balance maintaining mobility for older drivers with the need to provide for the safety of all road users.” “Development of licensing policy is an ongoing process influenced by a wide range of evidence including age-related health and medical factors and data on older driver crash risk.
Full copies of the research papers “Older People and Transport” and “Older Driver Crash Statistics” (The Sullivan Report) are available on http://transport.govt.nz/current/issues/