should old people be allowed to drive?

[lukesdad]

Oldies are involved in less accidents because they all happen behind them

 

[simon.r]

It's not an age issue really, is it?

"yesterday, a 90 45 year old man mounted the pavement in his car and killed a 76 year lady and seriously injured the lady's friend. The man claimed that he blacked out.
I personnaly think that anyone over the age of 70 30 should re-sit a test that would test their reflexes ( emergency stop) ,their ability to read the road ahead ( roadsigns and perception of any danger ahead) and ability to perform manoeuvres safely.
Also, they should undergo a thorough medical exam and eye sight test."

Still make sense? Some old people aren't fit to drive, some young people aren't.

I'm in favour of regular testing for any licence holder. I don't think it would be logistically impossible - difficult, but not impossible and it could be self-financing I suspect. I'd like to see a basic, quick test every 5 years. Failure would lead to some sort of probationary period when training and re-testing could be underatken rather than immediate withdrawal of a licence. Repeated failure would have to lead to a licence being withdrawn.

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

I support black boxes in vehicles which do data loggin and discounts on insurance given to those who drive safely and within the constraints of the law.
Im not sure passing a test proves that some one is of a reasonable standard to be on the roads, some completely dreadfull drivers have passed a driving test as such im not sure what taking another test would achieve.

 

[BigonaBianchi]

most older drivers are responsible and extra carefull because they know their licence is the link to th eoutside world sometimes. My dad , case in point, 76, and signed up to the IAM ...he is uber safe because he feels it is his responsibility to be so.
Now...health and age go hand in hand, and sometimes elderly peeps have health issues while driving..heart attacks etc. Perhaps a health test...that'll be a 'medical' then Rolf.....would be a good idea at 70-75?

 

[ColinJ]

I'm surprised that PaulB has neglected to mention one of my forum rides which he was forced to abandon before he even got to the start, having being knocked off his bike by an elderly driver who came round a bend on his side of the road! She was so doddery that she didn't even notice that she had done it. She was forced to stop by another motorist who blocked the road after witnessing the events, and argued with him and her passenger husband that she had done nothing wrong!

 

[swee'pea99]

Anyone my age has swapped stories with friends about parents who really shouldn't be driving, but do. My dad was a menace, till we persuaded him to give up. And I'm sure many wouldn't give up. None of which negates the risk from younger incompetents and idiots, but there's no denying that in a great many cases, much past 70 and things like sight, reflexes, and spatial awareness just drop off a cliff. And people as incapable as that just shouldn't be allowed to be in charge of one ton lumps of metal capable of 100 MPH.

 

[Archie_tect]

My dad is now 85 but really shouldn't have been driving for the last 10 or more years... I've spoken to hom about it several times but he syas he's fit enough and he keeps renewing his licence. I refused to let my children be driven in a car by him nor would I allow him to follow me when driving.

My mother gave up her car when she was 74 after losing her licence following a positive breath test the morning after she'd been drinking... thankfully before she had a serious accident.

I've witnessed 2 serious car write-offs driven by two drivers, both in their 70s who panicked and hit the accelerator instead of the brake and froze- sending their car on a collision course with anything unlucky enough to be in their path... how they didn't kill someone or themselves was miraculous.

I watched an elderly man in his late 80s be helped to walk to his car who couldn't bend unaided or turn to get in and then drove off revving the engine because he had no clutch control... it's not age that is the problem , it is the infirmity.

 

[ColinJ]

Actually, this is one of those subjects we have done several times before ... Yes, many old people love their cars and rely on them for their independence, but it is also a fact that the older that drivers get beyond (say) 70, the more likely it is that their driving ability will be impaired. It makes sense to carry out some extra checks on them then.

A friend was in his elderly uncle's car when the old guy literally died at the wheel! He didn't make a sound - the car just started drifting across the road. Fortunately nothing was coming the other way, and my mate's mum grabbed the wheel, turned off the ignition and put the handbrake on to bring the car safely to rest. (Yes, I realise that young people sometimes die suddenly too, but great age is an obvious risk factor!)

 

[slowmotion]

I don't have many compliments for the sleazy insurance industry but I think they may know a thing or two about accident rates. Compare the premiums of 20 year old drivers to those of seventy year olds.

BTW, that stuff about young people having faster reaction times...it's rather like the old argument that you need a car capable of 180 mph "to pull you out of trouble".

In Darwinian terms, I suppose it thins the herd.

 

[swee'pea99]

I don't have many compliments for the sleazy insurance industry but I think they may know a thing or two about accident rates. Compare the premiums of 20 year old drivers to those of seventy year olds.

Yes, but 20 year olds and 70 year olds are dangerous for different reasons. The ones applying to 70 year olds can be tested far more easily and accurately. In any case, saying that cancer is worse than a headache isn't much of an argument against aspirin.

 

[slowmotion]

Yes, but 20 year olds and 70 year olds are dangerous for different reasons. The ones applying to 70 year olds can be tested far more easily and accurately. In any case, saying that cancer is worse than a headache isn't much of an argument against aspirin.

I'm just suggesting that the general danger posed by elderly drivers is trivial to that posed by kids, to themselves and other people on the roads/pavements, and that we should keep that into some kind of perspective. As far as I know, very few elderly drivers wrap their hot hatches round trees at 2 am with total loss of life to the three other people in the car.

OK, that's a stereotype, sorry.

 

[GetAGrip]

I support black boxes in vehicles which do data loggin and discounts on insurance given to those who drive safely and within the constraints of the law.
Im not sure passing a test proves that some one is of a reasonable standard to be on the roads, some completely dreadfull drivers have passed a driving test as such im not sure what taking another test would achieve.

I'm with you on black boxes in vehicles. That would cover attitude. I was also thinking that maybe a bi-annual MOT type assessment on all drivers, (paid for by the driver). That could determine the mental and physical ability of all drivers, as illness can effect any one of us!.....at any time!

 

[ufkacbln]

I don't know how old you are, but do you drive the same now as when you were 18? If not, why not? Back to my post for the answer.

Can't find one!

The post seems to be accepting that poor driving in younger drivers is "one of those things" whereas poor driving in the elderly is a major issue that we need to deal with.

Both need to be addressed, and the younger drivers with higher accident rates and greater number of accidents overall should be a priority?

 

[DiddlyDodds]

Young drivers are risk takers and drive to fast = Yes they are the same age group that won the battle of britain taking them very same risks in the sky and saved us from being German.

Older drivers are the modern grandchildren taxi service

Leave am alone , if you want to up your risk of danger dont look at the roads just go to the local town centre on a weekend and then visit A&E to see the aftermath

 

[asterix]

yesterday, a 90 year old man mounted the pavement in his car and killed a 76 year lady and seriously injured the lady's friend. The man claimed that he blacked out.
...
As a driving instructor, I see old drivers every day failing to drive safely ( not signalling, bad road positioning, driving to slow on dual carriageways and indeed single carriageways...)
I am 61 myself and dread the day I wont be able to drive but I hope I will have the commonsense to see the signs and throw my car keys away when it happens.

I agree with what you say. My father had been an excellent driver with no accidents of any kind in over 50 years driving but when he started having difficulties and minor shunts we could not get him to give up the car. Being a passenger was scary stuff.

However, it might not have been his own fault. He had been to the doctor several times about his failing capabilities and even had a stay in hospital and it wasn't until he had a fall that they eventually discovered he had a brain tumour that must have been developing a considerable time. The fact is that the medical profession simply assumed he was old rather than ill and ignored his distress.

Only among the PC Brigade, who think that coming up with smug new name for an accident will magically reduce the number of them.

It hasn't, and it won't.

That's a foolish perspective IMO and that's putting it politely. Don't bring your ideological claptrap over here please there's enough of that stupidity elsewhere.