Study on Older Drivers Aims to Change Conversation Around When to Give up the Wheel

The reasons behind why an older person does or doesn’t give up driving a vehicle is the subject of a new study by the University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC), which found individual factors surrounding health and lack of suitable infrastructure were the most common determiners. UniSC researchers compiled two papers that have been subsequently published in major international health journals. It relies on data collected from 12 studies, involving 600 drivers from four countries over the pension age, as well as those that have chosen to stop driving, and a dozen drivers from the Sunshine Coast. An increase in life expectancy has led to an aging population, and 22.1 percent of Australians aged 65 and over are predicted to hold driver’s licences by 2030, according to the Australian Roads and Traffic Authority....