Launch of Mature Road Users’ Guide

26 October 2001Speech Notes

Good afternoon, talofa lava, greetings to you all. In particular I welcome John Jefferson, national president of Grey Power, Violet McCowatt from the Grey Power board and Auckland regional members of Age Concern.

Thank you for inviting me here today to launch the ‘Positive Guide for Mature Road Users’ booklet.

It always pleases me to see a local community working together to develop resources in response to local needs. This national guide started off as a resource for older drivers in the Kapiti Coast area. The booklet was so successful that demand quickly outstripped supply. Word of mouth generated requests from all around the country, and a second reprint was needed.

I thank the team from the Kapiti Coast District Council, who worked closely with the Land Transport Safety Authority after they recognised the need for a booklet for older drivers. In particular I acknowledge Kapiti Road Safety Co-ordinator Sue Johnston, who is with us today, and Dave Hebden from the LTSA, who were both instrumental in developing the Kapiti booklet.

Before developing the booklet as a national resource the LTSA surveyed a wide range of older age group organisations to find out what other information could be included.

There was a huge response to the survey, showing a high level of interest from older drivers. Thanks are also due therefore to the many individuals and organisations who responded to the national survey and helped to formulate this booklet.

The Role of the Booklet

The booklet provides straight-forward advice on a range of topics of concern to older drivers. These include reminders about recent changes to road rules and the roading environment, and information about the recent changes to the driver licensing system.

The booklet also helps older drivers to reflect on their own driving behaviour and assists them in making sound decisions about their driving future.

To my mind, however, its most important tasks are to ease the worries of many older drivers about sitting the older driver test, and to empower those who use it to be informed and confident drivers.

For those who may be contemplating retiring from driving the booklet provides guidelines that could possibly extend your driving career. These include:
·discussing and acknowledging conditions that could affect your driving and suggesting strategies to reduce these;
·discussing your options with friends and family; and
·attending a ‘Safe With Age’ course, which I know many of you here today have already done.

The guide will work side by side with ‘Safe with Age’ courses and will be available to all course participants as well as to the general public. Copies of the guide are being distributed through doctors, public libraries, the Land Transport Safety Authority, driver licensing agencies, Age Concern and Grey Power branches.

Driver Licensing Fees

Before I finish I would like to say a few words about the driver-licensing regime because I know this has been a concern for many older drivers. I am pleased to report that Cabinet last week confirmed the fee changes that I signalled a few months ago. As a result all drivers over 75 will pay only $18.30 for their licence from December 31. As most of you will be well aware this price is currently $37.50 if you are between 75 and 80, or $36 if you are aged over 80. So the drop will be a very significant one.

This move has come about because this government recognises that having a licence is vital for older drivers to maintain their independence, their mobility and their ability to participate in the community. It is also recognises that older drivers are often less able to absorb price increases compared to the rest of the population, and that no other group of drivers is so frequently in contact with the driver licensing system.

Our changes to improve the lot of mature drivers will not stop there. We are also looking at making the licensing system more “user friendly”. One of the plans currently being worked on is to make it easier for mature drivers to apply for a conditional licence - a licence with restrictions attached. So, for example, they may be limited to driving in low-speed zones, or to driving during the day. But of course such a licence would only be issued if we were certain safety was not compromised.

I hope that these changes will give older drivers greater support. This new guide will do likewise. The key message that I would like to leave you all with is that ability, not age, determines safe driving.

Thank you, and drive safely.