Elderly drivers are just as dangerous as young "hoons" who have a tendency to speed and take other risks behind the wheel, an expert on older people's health says.

Geriatrician David Lussier said research suggested older drivers were causing as many car accidents as young reckless drivers because of their deteriorating cognitive and physical abilities and likelihood to be on multiple medications.

Elderly drivers cause as many accidents as young drivers, says geriatrician David Lussier. Credit:123rf.com

He said from the age of about 50 to 60 people start losing their capacity to divide their attention between multiple things at the one time – a skill required for good driving.

"Driving requires a lot of divided attention because you have to focus on what you're seeing in front of you, as well as to the right and to the left of you. And you have to coordinate that with what you're doing with your hands and feet. It's a very complex task," he said at the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists' annual scientific meeting in Adelaide.