To think old drivers are more dangerous than young ones?

[PistolAnnies]

An old dear almost crashed right into me before, clearly didn't see, even when I had to swiftly swerve to get out of her way, and she was squinting her eyes trying to see

I see this more with old drivers and think they should have to surrender their license, if at a certain age, their eyesight and health are not in the best condition

The old folk are not good drivers by Grand Prix and rally standards but they usually drive more slowly and take much more care than young drivers so they have less accidents.

They can be a bit doddery but it comes to us all so I'm not knocking them

If the old dears lose their licences at 70 how are they going to drive here, there and everywhere to look after their grandchildren.
I know a lot of late 60s grandparents who drive all over the country to look after their DGCs - often at very short notice.

Warning: anecdote to follow.

My granddad is 75, and has recently been diagnosed with glaucoma. He says he has noticed his field of vision narrowing since his diagnosis, plus he has a small cataract on his good eye which is not yet ready to be operated on. He is still allowed to drive, somehow passing an eye test where he admits to guessing at the letters. Grandma has taken over driving at night or if he's particularly tired, but she has to suggest it. I'm fairly sure that if he thought there was a need for it, he'd go out in his car at night despite all this.

However. He has always been a terrible driver. He drove over a mini roundabout 15 years ago and wrecked his suspension. He never indicates and pulls across lanes of traffic without looking. How he has never been in a serious accident I don't know. Mum says he's been like this as long as she can remember. He gets lost constantly, and then stressed. It used to be a standing joke that we could tell when he had arrived at our house because of the outraged tooting you could hear from other drivers.

So I'm on the fence. Yes, people with vision problems shouldn't be driving. But what about people who are just poor drivers? Of any age. I do quite like the idea of compulsory testing every 5 years, but only if it cost less than the current driving test.

Vision and driving is covered by legislation - you have to be able both to read a numberplate at the required distance,and read a particular line of an Opticians chart.If you don't meet the standard you are not legal to drive and your insurance will be invalid,this applies to everyone regardless of age.
There will be people who are driving with inadequate vision - there are also people driving illegally for other reasons.And plenty of older people can see just fine - my Grandmother,at 90,had the best vision in the family (more anecdote of course...)
Has your Grandad told DVLA about his sight issues,TooExtraImmatureCheddar? They check both extent of the visual field and vision if there is doubt about someone's sight but that is dependant about people being honest about their health etc.

This is a message from Transport for London.

As part of our new young drivers road safety campaign we have produced a new advert to advise young people not to speed, or drive too fast for the road that they are on:

In 2012, 4,684 people in London were injured in collisions involving young drivers.

We urge young drivers to stay focused and not show off for their friends on the road.

You may not realise, but young people can learn some driving habits from other road users.

So we are urging young people: "Kill your speed and not your mates".

I think there are a lot of people who drive dangerously because they take a lot of risks and younger people tend to be more responsible for this.

However I think that the vast majority of people will become a dangerous driver before they hand in their license - after all, if you were still driving safely, why would you stop? I certainly wouldn't want to give up such a freedom if I was perfectly capable of driving meaning that you have to NOT be capable of driving before considering it.

So yes, someone can be a completely acceptable driver at 70, however they will almost inevitably become an unsafe driver before they voluntarily give up their license or have it taken off them.

I think you are BU. The driver up my arse in the black hatchback behind me is almost always young and male. I drive confidently and do not dawdle along, but said male has to be IN FRONT of me, whatever it takes.