Candor Trust press release

Are NZ roads teeming with medical emergencies?

Candor Trust say the 64 year old driver who crashed his way into a funeral home lounge yesterday is a sign of the times, and even greater troubles to come.

'With an aging population we have reduced re-testing for licenses when people reach a ripe old age, which bucks International trends'.

Add to that a grossly incompetent Medical Fitness Division at Land Transport NZ which destroys all medical files that could show that up even before the 7 year limit (under the guise of 'privacy concerns'), and you have multiple bomb wicks lit.

LTNZ refuses to revoke drivers licenses on medical grounds unless a major traffic has been commited is resulting in timebombs exploding all over the countryside - especially more aged ones.

LTNZ has not provided statistics the Trust requested to help quantify the number of drivers reported as non compliant with Drs advice not to drive now on the road, so Candor believes the Public can only assume the situation is not commendable.

The population of drivers over 65 is set to rapidly increase and the Australian Capital Territory is doing better than NZ in setting up a task force to address the ramifications for transport safety.

A report commissioned by the ACT Government after several incidents like the funeral parlour one (which may have been very serious) found many elderly motorists were unaware of the dangers they posed to the community.

The report released this month also recommended the ACT Government work alongside doctors to identify 'at risk' drivers and develop a special transport strategy for targeting risks posed by the aged.

A major concern identified was that 80 per cent of older drivers expected their doctors to tell them when they were unfit to drive, and would not chuck in the towel on their own initiative.

The report indicated that older people also needed to be encouraged to surrender their licences more forcefully when unable to manage.

'The situation is surely no different here in New Zealand except that we are reluctant to deal with the emerging transport needs and liabilities posed by the elderly'.

'What if the funeral crasher had crashed into a funeral gathering, then this news item would not be an oddspot one, but instead a major tragedy and that is worth considering'

'It won't be boy-racers getting a bad rap in future but the pensioners instead if some strategy is not found to reduce the risk, or existing controls utilised.'

Candor say it is not reassuring at all that Police said the driver had been forbidden to drive until his medical condition was checked.

'Quite the opposite in fact. We're sure the Police know as well as we do that the Dr can not make an unfit driver stop driving - or influence better decisions around when to drive (based on fluctuating medical status) if the patient is difficult'.

And nor will LTNZ follow up on a Drs expressed concerns if the driver is assessed unfit and unwilling to stop driving or only drive per conditions - via firm action such as cancelling a license.

Unless the driver of concern happens to be an involuntary patient being treated under the mental health Act, per recent correspondence the Trust has had with LTNZ.

'We understand there are significant issues of short staffing at the medical division of LTNZ as we're advised only one medical advisor oversees 40,000 odd files'.

'However we fail to accept Mr Donnellys opinion that it would be inappropriate and legally indefensible to revoke or suspend licenses possessed by the medically unfit can possibly be based upon sane legal advice.'

'His Department is given the statutory power to revoke licenses not so that power can never be used when a trainwreck is obviously in progress'.

If they are abnegating on the responsibilities met by all other licensing bodies due to some wish not to discriminate against the disabled this is at an unacceptable cost to public safety and we strongly object to the lack of due care and diligence.

'Only in New Zealand are medical certificates not worth the paper they are written on, and this goes beyond mere negligence in not getting hazardous car drivers off the road.'

'Even truck and passenger endorsement holders are beyond LTNZ reach no matter how sick they are - Drs in the know about LTNZ's non performance are fuming'.

If we don't start plugging all the loopholes in safety regulations then the efforts being made to reducing the toll at the youth end of the spectrum will be more than offset by a culling of elder drivers and their victims.

'Right now the public should have no confidence that Land Transport is upholding a safe driver licensing system'.

It should worry us that if the funeral crasher is not charged, perhaps due to his medical condition having caused his crash - then there is no way hose that LTNZ will bother revoking his license. Not if his medical check show up big troubles that he won't acknowledge.

The careers of irresponsible epileptics, addicts and people with sleep disorders can be long and damaging simply because LTNZ has set a world record in bizarre transport policy by ignoring Drs opinions and the skeleton staff lacks any spine.

ENDS

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