Licence Laws for Older Drivers 
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| Tuesday, 16 October 2007 | ||||||
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Mr MIKE BAIRD (Manly) [6.04 p.m.]: Tonight I speak about the same subject as the member for Pittwater: the concerns of the many senior citizens on the northern beaches about the proposed changes to driving regulations that the Roads and Traffic Authority has put on its website. I point out at the outset that to undertake community consultation with the senior citizens in our society through a website demonstrates no understanding of those members of the community or the way to communicate with them. Many senior citizens do not have access to the Internet and did not know about the proposed changes until the matter was raised in the various communities. The first response to the proposed changes was very clear. Three hundred and twenty-six constituents from all age groups—the 60s, 70s, 80s and even some 90s—attended a forum at which there was unanimous opposition to the proposed changes. Almost 500 people in my electorate have signed a petition against the proposals and many have written to me to object. The evidence suggests that this is clearly a form of discrimination. For some reason the Roads and Traffic Authority, the Minister for Roads and the Premier have taken the view that they no longer want to extend respect to our senior citizens: they want to take away their freedom. There are many problems with the proposal and I will go through some of them. Statistics on the website of the Roads and Traffic Authority show that almost six times more crashes are caused by drivers aged 25 and younger than by drivers aged 70 and older. The statistics also show that 30 per cent of crashes caused by drivers in their 80s occurred outside the driver's local government area. That means that the majority of such crashes occurred close to the driver's home. The facts do not add up. Most of the accidents occurred closer to home, but there were fewer of them—in fact, the lowest level of almost any demographic. It is flawed logic. The 10-kilometre restriction is ill-conceived. A driver either is or is not a safe driver. What is missing is a real respect for those members of the community who day in and day out have safe driving records but who, more importantly, are volunteers and form a critical part of our community. No regard is being paid to the social isolation involved. The NRMA is very clear in its statement:
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