To think people should re take their driving test at 70?

[PotterAndHisWand]

Most of my Grandmothers friends (age 80 plus) who drive should not be on the road in my opinion as they drive dangerously and don't have the reactions of younger drivers.

I realise that there are a lot of accidents caused by young drivers but I really feel fr safety's sake people should re take their driving test at 70... AIBU?

I'd support a retesting regime if it covered the whole population (perhaps at the 10 year renewal point), rather than targeting a group who are not the biggest hazard on the road by quite some way.

Of course you wouldn't want to be retested but it's the safety aspect.

All you need to do to renew your licence as an elderly person is tick a box to say your eyesight is fine and you have no new health problmes and you are sent a new one. I take it this is what most people do. This really frightens me...

Brandy- your nana sounds very much like my mil. Her driving was impaired by various health issues and in the end only after various incidents (incl one where she hit"clipped " a car) was she persuaded to give up.
I think the fitness to drive point needs to be much more closely monitored (wasn't there a thread on here the other day about someone's sister who was applying for a licence despite her dr advising against it as wasnt fit to drive).

YANBU I'm starting to feel reluctant to let dd in the car with my dm. She is 66 and is slowly seeming to lose her concentration when driving, she drifts around in her own little bubble with no lane discipline and non existent indicating. She is also hesitant at roundabouts and crawls around them so slowly I sometimes think she's just going to stop completely.

If she were to have an accident it would probably be someone going in to the back of her and would be recorded as not her fault (for data and insurance purposes) but 9/10 these days it would probably be her poor driving habits that caused the accident.

I know potter - mil renewed her licence not long before the incident and would have failed on about 10 points but cos its self assessed , there is no check . Ok you will Be in trouble if there is an incident
And you are unfit but that's all a bit late (like for poor girl in news article link ).

My grandmother is 80 and she has bumped her car on numerous occasions. Each time she does, she just takes it to the garage to have it fixed and never bothers to inform the insurance company.

One memorable time, she was reversing off my very wide driveway with no other cars on it and she managed to back into a lamp post. In all the time I lived there, I never once even came close to hitting the lamp post and still don't know how she did it.

She also claims that accidents aren't her fault, like the driver who reversed out of a parking space into her car but having been in the car with her I'm not convinced.

My MIL is in her mid 70's and is similarly dangerous but she only drives in the town she lives in and refuses to drive anywhere that involves a dual carriageway except for coming to visit us twice a year.

It shouldn't be self assessed at all, a quick eye test every 5/10 yrs or medical should be enough really, maybe every 2yrs after 65.
But yes it is very scary that someone who may not realise that their eye site isn't good enough because of very gradual deterioration or denial can just tick a box and be free to drive about.

I wonder how we would go about getting the law changed in order to have people periodically re-tested?

"I think everyone should have to be re tested every so often, say 10 years, regardless of age as we must all be guilty of developing bad habits"

Totally agree with us. It's not bad habits, the test nowadays is much more comprehensive not sure I would have passed the test first time when they introduced the written element as well and I am sure I have forgotten what at least half the signs mean.

I am not sure periodic testing is the way to go. Maybe enforce a retest if your driving is of concern and allow police powers to enable this to happen.

When a driver has been in an accident, are their eyes tested? Just wondering. My Australian driving license shows that I must be wearing specs/contact lenses when driving. What about those whose eyesight was OK at the test, but has deteriorated since?

Cassie's Law

Wouldn't that be dangerous when approaching roundabouts? You really need to be in second gear.

I'd support a retesting regime if it covered the whole population (perhaps at the 10 year renewal point), rather than targeting a group who are not the biggest hazard on the road by quite some way.

But Edith it is a major hazard and the use of bald statistics mask the risk that some (not all) older drivers cause, Dept of Transport research undertaken in 1997 shows that they are the riskiest group per mile driven.

Whilst a ten year re-test may be appropriate for the general population, it would be inadequate for older drivers, between 70 and 80 drastic decline in competencies and well being can occur.

As I've said before we are talking about two separate things.

1. Behaviour based driving problems: That can be tackled by education and/or criminal sanction.

2. Health based incapacity: which can't be. Someone with the onset of Alzheimer's disease is only going to get more and more risky to others on the road.

If I get pulled over for speeding, I expect to get a fine and sent on a speed awareness course, which will hopefully moderate my behaviour.

But if I develop Epilepsy or a degenerative eye condition, I am not able to do anything about my risk to others, except by returning my licence to the DVLA.

My car (parked on the road outside my house) was crashed into and nearly written off in Oct (when DS was 6 weeks old, not relevant except that it was all I needed at the time). My car was shunted 10 ft into the back of my DH's car so it was an all round bummer of an evening.

The 'culprit' was a lady in her 80s, who passed out behind the wheel on her way back from a keep fit class. Her husband, who turned up when called shortly after, said that she suffered from low blood pressure. She was fine thankfully and I know they are only cars, but FFS!

Still haven't got my car back either.

I think everyone should be retested every 10 years or so. Maybe 5 years after passing the driving test then every 10 years after that.

Have just signed the Cassie's law petition although I certainly think the government should be looking at more productive means of making our roads safer. Where I live it is mainly young students and elderly people and the roads are really dangerouse because of this. The students drive very very fast in our 30 MPH zone and the elderly people just seem oblivious of other motorists & pedestrians even though they drive very slowly.

In the US state of Illinois drivers over 70 get retested every two years until they reach 80 and then are tested every year after that. This includes an eye test. Very sensible in my opinion!

That sounds really sensible Curly but I think out governement is reliant on teh silver vote or whatever it's called so woul dbe hesitant to bring something like his in..

YANBU. My Nan is 87, has Alzheimer's, and passed the extra test they gave her to ensure she was still competent. I have no idea how, she was a menace - slow, uncertain, distracted and she could only do 3 or 4 well-known routes - when one had a clearly-signed detour due to roadworks she crawled drove until she got somewhere she did recognise and then went back home.

Fortunately she doesn't drive now but she keeps threatening to. The big thing to take into consideration however is how much a car is a sign of independence to the older generation - she took the idea of some authority telling her she couldn't drive really personally.

Regardless of whether it gives people independence or not I think the main issue here is saving lives. My Grandfather had to have his keys taken away from him - thank God!

The "risk per mile" statistics aren't terribly illuminating if you are looking at this from the actual number of incidents. It's not going to make our roads safer, as they are not causing the number of accidents, or the number of injuries and fatalities that other categories of drivers do.

Health based incapacity is covered already, whether it is related to age, disease or trauma.

Tiddleypompom: that's a horrid thing for you. My DSis went through much the same thing, only the culprit was in mid 30s.

Edith, in the link i posted the police stopped the driver who failed the eye test, they asked him if he would hand over his license because of his dangerous driving, he refused because by law he didn't have to do it.

It would help if police were permited to remove someones license if they failed a test like this on the spot.

in the link, only 3 days later the driver killed a 16yr old girl, whilst all the police could do was inform the DVLA of the on the spot eye test result.

If an insulin dependant diabetic has to be assessed very 3 yrs, then people should have an eye test as a minimum every 3 yrs IMO.

From what my Dad has said about renewing a licence over the age of 70, you have to go to your GP for the medical aspect of the renewal and he/she asks you "Are you safe to drive?" The pensioner says "Yes" and the GP signs the form.

I cannot understand why the GP does not fill out the form from the pensioner's medical notes eg. "Mr X has Alzheimers and also cannot turn his head to the right or move his right foot properly" etc. You don't even have to supply details of medication that might affect driving, or eye test results or anything.

Weird.

Edith Well I'd argue that the accidents per mile is quite significant. If someone drives 200k miles a year and causes two accidents and someone drives 5 miles a year and causes two accidents, it is rather a significant difference don't you think?

I also think your talk of categories and cohorts are misleading. These are individuals killing and injuring others as they are in a state of irretrievable mental and physical decline.

As for health being 'covered' as a self assessment tick box is hardly rigorous and is open to misuse.

Of course I could have a stroke tomorrow that would limit my mental capacity and impair my ability to drive. However a major trauma in your 30s which both I and medical staff are aware of is so utterly different to a long term, gradual mental decline associated with senile dementia, which the sufferer may be unaware of.