Older drivers 'exposed' on Aussie roads after major shift: 'Lifelong responsibility'
Road fatalities among young people in Australia has drastically decreased in the past 25 years — halving since 2000, meaning older drivers are now the most overrepresented in fatal crashes across the country.
Older drivers aged 85 and up are now the most disproportionately affected by fatal crashes, according to new data by Road Safety Education Limited (RSE).
Head of Program Delivery at RSE, John Elliott, said these new figures highlight the fact that "road safety education is working". Speaking to Yahoo, Elliott said the research has shown that drivers' ability to identify and react to hazards deteriorates with age.
"As does the body's capacity to survive the physical trauma that is inflicted in road crashes," he told Yahoo News. "This exposes older drivers to additional risks, especially in settings such as lower speed roads and complex intersections, compared to younger drivers."
He added that the stats don't suggest "older drivers are taking more risks", rather that they are more exposed to road trauma, relative to the number of actual licence holders.
"Young drivers are making safer choices, and it's saving lives," he said. "But we can't take our foot off the pedal. Road trauma remains a leading cause of death for young people, and sustained investment in prevention is critical to ensuring this progress isn't reversed."
Despite overall road fatalities remaining steady in the past 12 months (2023–2024), youth fatalities fell another six per cent (from 321 to 302). For the fourth consecutive year, young drivers have accounted for less than 20 per cent of road deaths, down from 28 per cent in 2004, the research revealed.
Young men remain significantly overrepresented in road trauma, with male drivers aged 18–20 more than 2.6 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash compared with the general population in 2024.
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"For the first time, older drivers have the highest fatality rate on our roads," Elliott said. "This highlights the need for all drivers — young and old — to remain vigilant behind the wheel. Road safety is a lifelong responsibility, with risks evolving at different stages of life. Education and tailored support are essential to helping drivers adapt to changing abilities, ensuring safer roads for everyone."
The RSE data highlights also revealed more than 50 per cent of vehicle occupant fatalities occurred on roads with speed limits of 100km/h or higher.
In addition, it found that young drivers in regional and remote areas are still up to eight times more likely to be involved in fatal crashes than their metropolitan counterparts.
It comes as a new study published in the publication Injury, where advanced algorithms using historical road data predicted older drivers (above 65 years old) would continue to be the greatest risk on the roads in the next 30 years.
"We expect older drivers whose driving ability has declined, and male drivers, especially motorcyclists, will continue to be at the greatest risk of becoming a fatality statistic," Flinders University health researcher Dr Soltani said.
'In contrast, we anticipate a much quicker drop in women driver fatalities, which could point to the more high-risk driving behaviours characterised by men.'
As authorities continue to grapple with the skyrocketing rate of deaths on our roads, experts have called for lowered default speed limits, which remain in some jurisdictions a dizzying 110km/h — among the highest default limits across the globe.
In some places, such as the Northern Territory, fatalities behind the wheel rose by a whopping 170 per cent in 12 months. In the Territory, and in Western Australia, the default speed — where there are no signs enforcing a limit — is 110 km/h. Everywhere else in the country the default limit is capped at 100km/h.
These rates are among the highest default speed limits in the world — and that's something WA Centre for Road Safety Research director Teresa Senserrick hopes will soon change. Speaking to Yahoo News, the West Aussie says she'd like to see that figure drop in WA first and foremost, but thinks the rest of the country could benefit from reduced limits too.
"Modelling shows that the one decision has resulted in hundreds of lives lost, and thousands of injuries on our roads that could have been avoided," she earlier told Yahoo.
"So it is really about adapting to changes over time, and saying that these speeds are no longer viable on the roads if we want to prioritise people's lives and wellbeing."
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