The idea, put forward recently by insurance firm QBE, would see drivers over a certain age display the identifying plates.

Not only that, the insurance broker is suggesting seniors’ cars be fitted with black box-like devices to keep constant track of their driving performance.

The rationale behind the proposal is that some 50 drivers in the broad 49 to 85 age bracket died on our roads in 2013-14.

Cynics might argue it would merely give insurance companies an excuse to charge older drivers even higher premiums.

“Bulldust”, “insulting” and “unnecessary” were just some of the words members of the Strathfield Senior Citizens Club used to describe the idea yesterday.

And it is hard not to nod in furious agreement with them.

Fifty lives is 50 too many to be lost in car crashes, as the Transport Accident Commission’s latest campaign is ramming home, but these statistics alone are not justification for radical change.

The first point to make is that the figures give no indication as to who was at fault in these fatal smashes.

The second point is that by virtue of their age, elderly crash victims are more likely to perish from their injuries than younger, fitter and more robust drivers.

Of course, no one is immune to ravages of time. It is inevitable that eventually one’s eyesight will fade and reflexes slow.

But to a certain extent this physical decline is often offset by the experience of 50, 60, 70 or even 80 years spent behind the wheel.

Older drivers are less likely to speed, less likely to drink-drive and less likely to take the sorts of risks that can cause tragic accidents.

Anyone with elderly parents or grandparents knows just how closely they guard their licence and how reluctant many often are to relinquish it.

A driver’s licence gives its holder self-sufficiency and is particularly important for older residents in regional areas without great public transport options.

Yes, elderly drivers should sit regular tests to ensure they are capable of piloting a car safely. But a proposal to single them out just because of their age is simply daft.