Queensland Government report recommends review of speed limits due to ageing population

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Speed Limits

Should speed limits be lowered?

Yes, on all roads

Yes, but only on specific roads (e.g. near schools, aged care facilities)

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Yes, but only on highways and motorways

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Experts have warned older drivers will make up an "increasing population of the road toll in the future", and have handed the Government 26 recommendations to prepare for a tsunami of ageing motorists.

Older drivers are back in the spotlight after a 76-year-old woman killed Kerryn Blucher, 33, and her unborn child at the Redland Spring Festival last month.

And Ali France, the daughter of former Labor racing minister Peter Lawlor, had a leg amputated when an 88-year-old driver lost control of his vehicle and hit her while she was waiting for a carpark lift in a shopping centre last year.

Transport Minister Scott Emerson has called for public comment on the Older Driver Safety Advisory Committee's report, which has also recommended re-designing roads.

The report said the number of Australians aged 75 and older will increase by 83 per cent in less than two decades, rising to 11 per cent of the population in 2031, up from 6.2 per cent in 2007.

The report said older drivers can frustrate other road users by driving too slow, and this "can manifest in road rage and intimidating driving behaviours".

"While older drivers may have long years of experience . . . some will inevitably experience problems as they age, which will impact on their ability to drive safely," the report said.

"There is clear research evidence of the benefits of realistic and well-enforced speed limits, however the speed limits do not take specific account of older road users (and) this will become a more important consideration with demographic change.

"Where there are high proportions of older adults, for example where an older adults' residential complex is located, local government can take this into account in setting speed limits.

"However this focuses on pedestrian activity, and overall demographic change with respect to drivers is not considered."

Other key recommendations include communication strategies to prevent road rage directed at older drivers, information about the best cars for older people to drive, road designs better suited to older drivers, and yearly medical certificates for drivers over 75 years.