To wonder how on earth they will sentence a 96 year old?!

If they cannot drive safely, they need to stop driving, end of story. If relatives cannot or do not wish to ferry them about, the elderly relatives in question need to be told this, and given some assistance with moving to an accessible home on a bus or tram etc route, and with as much as possible within walking or scootering distance. Taxis can also help with getting to places not on public transport routes, give up the car and suddenly there is a lot of money there for taxis.

A more immediate issue is the backlog of driving tests. Many people wait months for a test slot. That backlog will need to be drastically reduced before the UK can get serious about extra tests at 75 or whatever age.

So eight years after you retire you are stuck with zero transport if you live rurally? Unless you can afford a taxi - for instance it would cost me £10 for the two mile journey to the nearest shop each way. https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/documents/35024/284111/PDC+taxi+tariff+and+fares.pdf/cfddcfa8-470f-9458-3d27-8dc9d1fb6f12
Let's fill the roads with elderly cyclists and horse riders, eh? I'd like to have a go at driving a gig! Or I could drive a mobility scooter at 4mph along the A-road (no pavements) where I live perhaps?
I agree that the checks for competence as you age should be stricter, but an outright age limit would be unworkable.

nb.

Why the snarky eyeroll? My DP has not driven since he passed his test, yet keeps his photo on his license up to date so he can use it as ID. He is doing nothing wrong.

Depends why you lost concentration. As has been mentioned on this thread, the case of the 40 something in Wimbledon who killed people had a seizure. Her first one.
Sometimes, shit happens.

I’ve never met a 96 year old who would be competent to drive. Have you?

I have to agree somewhat with this.

If you are responsible enough to get behind the wheel of a car then you are responsible to take the consequences if it goes wrong. If you cant go to prison due to bad driving, dont drive. We can all make mistakes after all.

I am 51. If I lose concentration and plough through a load of kids on a crossing outside a school, I would be jailed and rightly so. I accept that everytime I get in the car. If I cant take the consequences then I shouldnt be driving.

You cant cherry pick "I want to keep my independence" whilst trying to use "But I am too old and frail for jail" as a defence.

When my Aunt got to 78 and was beginning to forget things my sisters and I persuaded her not to drive anymore. My sister's who lived close to her told her they would drive her anywhere she wanted to go.

Exactly, try telling them that

I'm actually fucking tired of hearing stories like this. So she's too old for prison, but not too old to have a driving licence even though she was blatantly unfit due to old age. Personally I think she should be locked up as an example to the many older drivers out there who refuse to surrender their licences even when their families beg them to.

My grandad was like that - in the end he was sectioned due to his Alzheimer's - the driving was one of the things we raised during discussions with doctors. We were relieved that that finally stopped him. But it was horrifying, the state he was in when he managed to persuade/bully his very elderly wife to lend him her car keys.

Young people driving also have their own risks, but we don't tend to hear of them driving up the wrong way on motorways or getting confused about what the accelerator is.

@Didhe

Lazy rules aren't the answer, my mum at 82 drives a lot better than many other drivers on the road, why should she lose her licence because of the candles on her cake, while younger unsafe drivers continue to drive recklessly?

That always fascinates me. How do people manage it?! I have made a point of looking and its actually really hard to pull on to a dual carriageway on the wrong side, they are designed specifically to MAKE it difficult!

The way you write this seems you are apportioning blame to the driver in the Wimbledon deaths - just to clarify, she suffered an epileptic fit, never having experienced this in the past. She was entirely blameless, and it was a tragic accident.

Not doable, been told by a PP that some people use their licenses as ID even though they dont drive....🙄

If people think we shouldn’t be ageist about old people driving, should we be ageist about them going to prison.

Recently on the local community Facebook page there was a video of an elderly gentleman driving the wrong way on a busy dual carriageway, and it turns out it was at least the second time he had been seen doing that!

Retest every ten years. Boom, problem solved.

I do it already. My parents both had to stop for health issues. We make it work. So I still see no reason why we shouldn't all be tested every ten years and more often as we age.

I don't suppose the prison system is really set up to deal with the very elderly. In fact I am pretty sure I saw an article recently about how this is a problem and new facilities might be needed, more along the lines of care homes, for very elderly prisoners.

Basically, what purpose is served by imprisoning someone that age. If their licence and car is taken away then they are no longer a danger to society.

This was another sad case near me
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-39372458.amp

Good idea. We should do that.

Pre-sentencing reports do take all that into account.

I don't see how people can commit a crime and then 'they are old, they have kids, they are a single parent, they will lose their job, they had a bad childhood' you commit a crime you get punished

I’d have no issue with everyone retaking every 5 years regardless of age, if that makes you feel happier. I don’t think nervous 25 year olds who won’t go above 40 or overtake on a motorway should be driving either.
@Saschka Sorry but I don't think this makes much sense.

Some people when they pass their test may be full of confidence. Over confident even. Isn't it the case that most accidents are caused by young men? Presumably young men who are supremely confident about what good drivers they are. Except they are actually still very inexperienced.

So a newly qualified driver being a bit nervous and over cautious seems perfectly normal and understandable to me. Presumably this wears off fairly soon as they get more experience.

If you are going to ban nervous new drivers then the only people on the road would be the ludicrously over confident with no reason to be.

How do you stop someone determined to drive though?
MIL is her 80s, still drives everywhere (and so far still more than capable to)
If for some reason she suddenly couldn't or started to recline in reflexes, she wouldn't take kindly to it or give up easily.
Wouldn't be our fault, she's a grown adult with choices!

I think there should be a rule that you need some sort of competency test every couple of years after the age of 75.