Nearly half of driving deaths over 60
Nearly half of all deaths on South Australian roads this year have been people over the age of 60, with new data indicating the government’s road safety goal is off track.
There have been 80 lives lost on South Australian roads in 2024, with 734 people seriously injured as of November 20.
According to SA Police data, 37 of those killed were 60 or over, making up 46 per cent of the road toll. The five-year annual average for the number of deaths over 60 is 30.8 per cent.
The road toll in South Australia is 20.79 per cent less than it was this time last year, but RAA senior manager for road safety Charles Mountain said there has been a “concerning trend in the wrong direction since the late-2010s”.
“With an ageing population, we’re seeing more older road users losing their lives on the road, which is a reminder for everyone to look out for any older family members over the next few months,” he said.
Australian Medical Association in South Australia (AMA SA)’s Road Safety Committee chair Dr Monika Moy said the committee was “increasingly concerned” about the state’s road toll.
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“80 lives have been lost this year and that’s 80 too many,” Moy said.
“The fact that almost half of all fatalities this year involve someone aged 60 or older is cause for worry, but it’s wrong to assume older drivers are at fault because of their age alone.
“It’s important that all road users have the ability and cognitive capacity to drive regardless of how old they are.”
Moy said the committee had been in discussion with SAPOL and the Department for Infrastructure and Transport around the development of “more rigorous testing for assessing older drivers’ capacity”.
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“We’re concerned the current testing process is very subjective. It’s in the interests of all road users to ensure thorough medical assessments are carried out.
“AMA SA’s Road Safety Committee has proposed changes to the fitness to drive form and the process of testing drivers.”
The RAA said 2024’s road crash data indicated the state was off track to targets in the government’s Road Safety Strategy to 2031.
The strategy was implemented in 2021 and aims to see a decrease in lives lost on the roads of 50 per cent by 2031.
RAA said rolling data indicated South Australia has not been on track to reach this target since March 2023.
The state would have to record 80 or fewer deaths on the road, and 639 or fewer serious injuries this year to stay on track.
Last year there were 13 lives lost on South Australian roads during December.
