Elderly drivers: Why GPs must now disclose family warnings about safety

Privacy changes mean patients must now be notified when information about them is collected from a family member or a neighbour.

Katikati GP Dr Vicky Jones says that creates challenges when people contact doctors with concerns about someone’s ability to drive.

"What people have to understand now is that we have an obligation to pass that information on to the patient. So if a third party gives me unsolicited information, I have to tell the patient what that was."

The issue is particularly relevant as the volume of older drivers on New Zealand roads continues to increase.

Over the past decade, the number of drivers aged 75 and over has surged by 53%, and there are now more than 11,000 people in their nineties who hold a current driver's licence.

Jones says the challenge for doctors is weighing up a person’s ability to drive against the impact losing a licence can have.

"As people get older, they become frailer, their cognition can start becoming impaired, reaction times slow down, and that can increase the risk of accidents. That's something we have to take seriously," she said.

Drivers in New Zealand must undergo medical checks at 75, 80 and every two years after that to keep their licence. The responsibility for assessing fitness to drive falls on GPs.

Jones says information from family members, neighbours or others who know someone well can sometimes be an important part of assessing whether they are still safe behind the wheel.

"There are definitely instances where patients don't have great insight into their driving ability. Having third-party information is actually really helpful."

Notification changes, introduced via the Privacy Amendment Act 2025, came into effect on May 1 this year.

Jones says she now tries to make people aware of the privacy implications before they share concerns.

"If a third party tries to give me information while we're together, I'll actually put my hand up and say, 'Stop. You need to know that anything you tell me, I need to pass on to the person you're telling me about. Do you still want to give me this information?'"

But she says that becomes more difficult when information arrives unexpectedly.

"Obviously, if that's by email, I can't unsee it if I've read it, and that's really hard because our privacy obligations are that I do now need to tell that person."

Jones believes the impact on general practice was likely an unintended consequence of the privacy changes.

"When this law was changed, it obviously didn't have us in mind at all. It's just been a consequence of that change, and I don't think a lot of the public know about it.”

The are exceptions. For example, a health agency may not need to notify a patient if doing so would create a serious threat to someone’s life or health.

Other exceptions can apply where notifying the person would prejudice the purpose of collecting the information, or where it would prejudice the person’s interests.

The Privacy Commissioner’s Office said GPs have always had to navigate difficult conversations with patients about concerns raised by family members or others.

A spokesperson said the new rule does not require doctors to tell patients who provided information about them. Instead, it requires health agencies to take reasonable steps to explain what information has been collected and why.

They said GPs would continue to use their clinical judgement, and in some cases it may be appropriate to raise a concern generally rather than identify the person who shared it.

Some older drivers prove age alone doesn’t determine whether someone is safe behind the wheel.

At 98, Olwyn McDonagh is still driving more than 60 years after she first got her licence.

She doesn’t travel far these days, but says keeping her licence gives her independence.

"[ I can] do my own shopping, and you know, doctor's appointments and things like that."

Every two years, McDonagh must prove to a doctor she’s still fit to drive. This year, because of her age, her doctor asked her to complete an on-road driving assessment.

"I was very nervous."

Losing her licence is something she worries about.

"It would be dreadful. I don't like asking people for a ride or anything."

But McDonagh says she has adapted the way she drives as she’s got older. She avoids driving at night and in bad weather, but believes staying confident behind the wheel is important.

"You do need to also keep driving, keep up your practice."

She passed the test and her licence is valid until she's 100.

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