Increasing road safety a fine aim, but what about Safe With Age?

Submission – Ministry of Transport's Safer Journeys

 Age Concern New Zealand's submission on the Safer Journeys discussion document reminds policy makers to consider the needs of seniors.

We welcome the section 'Increasing road safety for older New Zealanders' and we've proposed other ways this can happen including more, and safer, pedestrian crossings.

However, we oppose the decision to terminate the popular Safe with Age mature road users education programme.

It's nonsensical for the Ministry to identify ‘increasing road safety for older New Zealanders’ as an ‘emerging issue’, while they're binning an existing programme.

Safe with Age helped older drivers to be safer, and helped them to enjoy safer driving for longer. For some it has meant the difference between loss of independence, and continuing to be active and involved.

We understand the New Zealand Transport Agency wants to carry out research and consultation on education for older drivers with the aim of piloting a new programme in 2010/11. Given that an effective programme was already in place, this is an appalling waste of public money, public sector staff time, and NGO resources.

In our submission Age Concern New Zealand urges the Ministry, through the New Zealand Transport Agency, to continue to work towards greater road safety for older New Zealanders and to reinstate the Safe with Age programme.

> READ our Submission to the Ministry of Transport

> READ the Minister's latest letter

> LINK to other reference