Fresh calls for senior drivers to get off roads after grandmother killed

Aussies are calling for new rules to get unfit elderly drivers off the road after a Perth grandmother drowned in a freak accident.

Police said an 81-year-old man was driving a Mitsubishi Magna wagon when it crashed into the water at Fremantle port’s South Mole just after 7:00pm on Monday. He managed to swim to safety but his 75-year-old wife was trapped in the submerged car and could not be rescued.

It’s understood the grandfather accidentally hit the accelerator with the car in reverse as the pair sat together in the car.

Witnesses told 7News it only took a couple of minutes for the car to disappear into the ocean.

“Just watching it go down was the hardest part really, sitting there watching it fill up with water,” Rhys Wells said.

Wells said the woman tried to undo her seatbelt to escape from the car, but was not able to unclip it.

“[He] said to me ‘where’s my wife?’ and there’s nothing I could say, I just looked away, didn’t know what to say,” he said.

The woman’s body was retrieved by police divers a short time later. The man is recovering in Fiona Stanley Hospital, but it is understood his injuries are not serious.

Police shared the statement on their Facebook page, and were quickly flooded with messages of support.

“That is so terribly sad, poor family,” one commentator wrote. 

However, others called for new rules to get unfit elderly drivers off the road.

“How sad. I wish there were more closer tests for elderly,” one user wrote. “I see so many elderly where I work that really shouldn’t be driving any more, not because of mental alertness but even health issues that may be exacerbated by stress and end up causing episodes and stress. Sad for this man to lose a companion/wife in such a way.”

Another added: I work at a Drs [sic] surgery and see so many that really should not be driving.”

While a third wrote: “Take their drivers licenses and give them taxi vouchers. This is just so tragic”

Read more: How do you feel about ‘S’ plates for senior drivers?

According to evidence released earlier last year at the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons annual scientific congress, an increasing number of older drivers are involved in road crash incidents across the country.

The Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics data from 2007 and 2018, found road fatalities for drivers aged 65 to 74 and 75-plus, have increased 2.3 per cent and 1.2 per cent per annum respectively.

The data also revealed road related hospitalisations from injury for 65- to 74-year-olds and those aged over 75 had increased 9 per cent in comparison to 1.8 per cent for their younger counterparts.

What are your thoughts on this?