Not just WA. Even here in Vic. Elderly family friend in Daylesford had to pay for a VicRoads tester to come out from Ballarat. The entire test / medical cost about $500.
That's pretty typical of governments all across this country who really are only interested in squeezing as much out of people as they can whether they can afford to pay or not. Really the amount it would cost them to subsidise a relatively small number of older people living in remote areas would be insignificant. Before my old dad passed away earlier in this year he would stress out for months before doing a driving test as he was afraid that he was going to fail and they would take away the thing that he most valued - his independence and ability to get around.
Regards BB
-- Edited by The Belmont Bear on Tuesday 30th of October 2018 12:56:43 PM
Not just WA. Even here in Vic. Elderly family friend in Daylesford had to pay for a VicRoads tester to come out from Ballarat. The entire test / medical cost about $500.
LLD I'm not that familiar with Vic so I don't know how close Daylesford is to Ballarat but surely making some elderly person shell out $500 in order for them to continue driving has got to come under the heading of either extortion or blackmail..That's maybe a bit strong but elderly people have been paying their way all of their lives shouldn't they be entitled to some sort of relief from the government during their latter years.
BB
-- Edited by The Belmont Bear on Tuesday 30th of October 2018 01:16:41 PM
BB. Daylesford - Ballarat is 45kms. I think a reason for the fees in VIC is to deter older people from being on the roads. The friend had all sorts of conditions on his licence and the family wanted him to give it up. It was actually costing him more in car rego, insurance and the annual fee than catching a taxi with his pension card.
LLD I fully agree with the need to reguarly check peoples competency to drive after a certain age and I have no problem with the assessment process. What I question is the need to penalise elderly people financially in order to try and force them off the road especially those that already struggle to pay their bills. Compared to the money that governments shell out to all the other welfare recipients the cost to subsidise what is a relatively small group of people for a driving test would be just a drop in the ocean.
Having said that with some of the driving behaviour that you reguarly see on our roads maybe its not just the elderly people whose competancy should be periodically checked.
Not just WA. Even here in Vic. Elderly family friend in Daylesford had to pay for a VicRoads tester to come out from Ballarat. The entire test / medical cost about $500.
d
Begs the question that one eh. If you cant drive from Daylesford to Ballarat for a test, should you be on the road?
My own personal feeling about older drivers and I guess I'm not that far off of being one at age 63. Is that maybe they should only be driving manual cars after say age 70-75, if they can't handle those then they know they shouldnt be driving. Never happen though. Would stop a hell of a lot of these smashes into shop windows etc...
-- Edited by palaceboy on Wednesday 31st of October 2018 05:02:59 PM
-- Edited by palaceboy on Wednesday 31st of October 2018 05:03:47 PM
G'day palaceboy,
I wonder if there should be a special licence for older drivers who need a car only to go to the doctor, local shops, etc where these facilities are out of walking distance. I see people nearly every day who are in that category.
They have no need to hop on a motorway to scare the living daylights out of themselves & other drivers.
Please watch how you categorize us "mature" drivers (70-75) - we might not take kindly to remarks like that! And I'm certain this site has lots of members who are older than this 71 year old! And who are towing bigger rigs.
Just a thought.
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Warren
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If you don't get it done today, there's always tomorrow!
In NSW once you reach 75 you need to do a yearly medical assessment to keep your full unrestricted license, once you reach 85 you have to have a yearly medical as well as a practical driving assessment. If at 85 you opt for a restricted licence which limits the time of day and the distance from home that you can drive then you can get away without doing the practical test. You are allowed to fail the practical test as many times as you like but it will cost you each time to be retested, if during a test the assessor thinks that you are a serious risk they will cancel your licence altogether. I wasn't questioning the need for the assessments just the fact that people in more isiolated areas where there are limited services should get some help from the government to cover the extra cost.
BB. Daylesford - Ballarat is 45kms. I think a reason for the fees in VIC is to deter older people from being on the roads.
If you want people to come to you you have to pay for their travelling time and other expenses. It is also an encouragement for these people to get a friend or relative to go with them to a testing centre to save the travelling time of the tester. It's a bit of a risk going on your own as if you fail the test you then have to get someone to drive the car back.
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PeterD Nissan Navara D23 diesel auto, Spaceland pop-top Retired radio and electronics technician. NSW Central Coast.
Not just WA. Even here in Vic. Elderly family friend in Daylesford had to pay for a VicRoads tester to come out from Ballarat. The entire test / medical cost about $500.
d
Begs the question that one eh. If you cant drive from Daylesford to Ballarat for a test, should you be on the road?
My own personal feeling about older drivers and I guess I'm not that far off of being one at age 63. Is that maybe they should only be driving manual cars after say age 70-75, if they can't handle those then they know they shouldnt be driving. Never happen though. Would stop a hell of a lot of these smashes into shop windows etc...
-- Edited by palaceboy on Wednesday 31st of October 2018 05:02:59 PM
-- Edited by palaceboy on Wednesday 31st of October 2018 05:03:47 PM
Interesting premise. That said, why should the "manual only" bit be applied to older drivers? That would seem somewhat discriminatory to me.
IMHO, ALL drivers should learn in manual vehicles*. Then again, I'd advocate that all drivers should also learn to ride a motorcycle. That would teach them better road craft (esp. 360-degree vision) than driving a car seems to in a lot of cases. (Disclaimer: I say this as a long-time holder of licence classes HC and R, and as a former Driving Instructor for C class licences).
*The biggest "disconnect" I see in the whole manual versus auto debate, is that times have moved on from 30 years ago, when manual was the "default" option, and autos cost extra. Now, in many cases (driven by market forces), the autos seem to be the default option these days, with manual as a no-cost option. Not in all cases, mind you, but the main thrust is correct: There are less and less manuals on the road now than there were 30-40 years ago.
On the "road" between now and fully autonomous vehicles, there'll be a point where the "art" of driving a manual car will likely be lost...
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