On licensing drivers over 80 (and 90, and 100)

2026-03-17 - 16:04

There are nearly 55,000 licensed motor vehicle drivers over the age of 80 in New Zealand. I’m one of them. Furthermore, there are 7569 licensed drivers over the age of 90. And a remarkable 23 are more than 100 years of age. I obtained my first driver’s licence in 1960, in Opunake, at the age of 16. In the ensuing 66 years, and after driving many thousands of kilometres here and overseas, I have had just one accident, caused by me, after a moment’s inattention. Today, who decides whether a person is fit to drive or not in this country? That is the business of Waka Kotahi, aka the New Zealand Transport Authority. First though, after a person turns 80, a general practitioner must decide whether or not any applicant is ‘medically fit to drive’. Thereafter, a medical certificate must be obtained every two years. Given our ageing population and the increasing number of elderly drivers, how is it best to ensure that our roads are safe, from them and for them? After all, ageing is concomitant with various physical deteriorations: a slowing of reflexes, declining eyesight, a tendency to become confused. Compensating for these infirmities, however, is an increase in driving care. Elderly drivers seldom speed through suburban streets or overtake recklessly, all-too-common hazards of younger drivers. While the overall standard of our driving remains appalling, we elderly drivers are safer than most. We don’t do speed. Also, for most of the elderly, being still able to drive is a virtual necessity. Visiting family and friends and supermarket shopping are indispensable activities. Public transport, though, has severe limitations. Coming home from the supermarket by bus, lugging two packed bags of groceries, is no walk in the park. Retaining one’s driver’s licence for as long as possible is therefore highly desirable. But how to balance this need to still drive with the physical deterioration brought about by ageing? This is a delicate matter – being declared ‘no longer fit to drive’ would bring about huge changes in one’s everyday life.