to support the idea of re-testing pensioners driving

[dhdjdbrjrkbr]

Last week a guy in his 70s down my road accidentally demolished a bit more of his wall driving into it as he's going blind. God knows what he's done when out and about. I drive 2 hours a day, lots on country lanes where is nsl and often someone turns into an road in front of me and I have to do an emergency stop. Reactions and awareness do decrease with age. Especially as there is a UN versal bus pas it doesn't seem that mean to me.

[BreakingDad77]

The thing is often you see people doing this constant speed driving slowly on the safer parts of the road i.e A roads and Motorways and overspeeding in Urban Areas.

[ImBatDog]

i narrowly avoided being killed by an elderly driver doing 80mph the wrong way down a motorway last year. she was in her 80s and had got confused by some roadworks on the entry roundabout in the dark.

I had to pull my car out of her path and she missed me by a hairs breadth, and further down the road took someone out and rolled her car.

perhaps testing would have prevented her being in control of the car? Perhaps it wouldn't,

i do think there should be some kind of monitoring after the age of 75 though.

[TooHasty]

My mum is nearly 80 and her car insurance is about £300 a year wheras it is about 10 times that for my 20 yr old son.presumably that is based on accident data for these age groups

[cozietoesie]

I sometimes wonder just how many older drivers don't have as many accidents as one might expect because they're driving very very locally ('down to the shops') and relying greatly on their memory of the roads as they were for many years.

I recall my father being brought home by the police one afternoon - nearly in tears - because he had wanted to go to a place but was relying in getting there on his memory of how to do it from 40 years ago. The (inner city) roads had chanced significantly since that time and he simply didn't know how to do it/where he was when faced with modern traffic layouts and conditions. The police found him quite stranded in his car.

After that, we 'mislaid' his car keys and then quietly sold the car. He was still talking thereafter about buying a new one but he forgot about it after a while. It would have had little or no impact on his life - the family bought all shopping and took him places etc - apart from his cherished 'independence'. Sadly, that independence had become too dangerous to himself and others to accommodate.

[Misslgl88]

I've just remembered another time I went to overtake an elderly man on a nice straight road he was only doing 30 but as I pulled out he sped right up this was a 60 road I've never been so scared in my life!

[LurkingHusband]

BiscuitsAreMyDownfall

Photo licences are the current standard, but weren't backdated. If your Mums licence is still valid (they expire aged 70) then it's valid. But when/if she needs a new one, it will have to be a photo one. However, it will still come with a paper part, which you will need to keep, as it validates the photo licence (sigh, only in the UK - everywhere else seems to manage fine with just a photocard licence).

[BarbarianMum]

YANBU - my dad was an excellent, very safe driver for many years. Now at 83 he just isn't. Hasn't got the ability to read and process everyone elses movements on the road quickly enough and respond appropriately.

I won't go in the car with him, he won't stop driving (is hugely offended by the suggestion in fact). And tiggytape there is nothing can be done about it - his eyesights's fine (with glasses), he has no heart condition liable to make him collapse (thankfully), he doesn't have Alzheimers - he's just old and stubborn. But legally he can drive.

[Misslgl88]

I thought they were doing away with the paper counterpart this year?

[LurkingHusband]

Misslgl88

You are correct

www.gov.uk/government/news/driving-licence-changes

About *** time too ! If ever there was an example of civil servants protecting their jobs. Another case of the UK "gold plating" EU regulations.

[Misslgl88]

So does that then mean anyone with paper licenses now need a photo licence?

[cozietoesie]

Misslg

No - if you read the linked guidance, they're grandfathering those in. You hang on to your paper-only licence (pre-1989) until any such time as you need to renew/change it - and then they'll send you back only a photo licence.

[TedAndLola]

Mandatory retesting for EVERYONE every 10 years. I know this could never happen without a lot of investment... driving centres can be booked up for three-six months just from having one-time tests. But ideally, everyone should have to brush up on their skills, both theory and practical. It's astounding the number of drivers on the roads who think they are right to drive in the middle lane, don't understand who has right of way, don't know how to merge onto the highway from a slip road... it's scary.

[Cockbollocks]

Yanbu, I watch a pensioner reverse into another car. He carried on his way and couldn't understand why people were gesturing at him. Some one stopped him and he hadn't even noticed he'd done it.

That said I do think all drivers should go on a driver course every ten years. I did a police one after I rear ended someone (hands up my fault) and honestly thought it was excellent and a great reminder, also it made you aware of new practices when driving.

Scary thing is the women I was paired with was horrific and at the end of the course the driving instructors told her that she was dangerous and if it were up to her her licence would be revoked

[BarbarianMum]

tiggytape I agree but at the moment there is no reactive element to the sight test. Legally we can't stop my dad from driving even though I'd really like to.

[YvesJutteau]

I don't know whether they should retake their driving tests (unless as part of a wider scheme to make everyone re-pass their test every so often) but there should be health screening with eyesight and reaction time testing, possibly also hazard awareness and theory (they could expand those bits of the testing regime without needing so much extra investment as redoing the practical test). DH's grandfather was driving for a good 5-10 years past the point where he should really have stopped.

[LarrytheCucumber]

I know a lady in her 80s who recently was reported to the Police for dangerous driving. The Police spoke to her, but said they had no power to take away her licence. Her carer took her to the GP and expressed his concern that she was no longer safe to drive. The GP said 'Well, Oldladydriver, do you think you are safe to drive?' Of course she said yes, so that was that. In the end the family have instructed the carer to make sure she has no access to the car keys, because they really don't think she is safe and represents a danger to others. In cases like that a retest would definitely be a good thing.
We probably all need a retest every ten years or so, though, not just the elderly.

[LurkingHusband]

I wonder if contacting the DVLA directly is an option ? They do have the power to revoke licences ....

[Icimoi]

The thing is, for every horror story here about an elderly driver, there are two about younger drivers - who, because they tend to speed, are actually likely to commit more damage. Obviously that isn't an argument for doing nothing about elderly incompetent drivers, but if there is a need to re-test the elderly then there's a good case for re-testing throughout people's driving careers.

For immediate purposes, I think many of the problems could be avoided by GPs taking a more robust and responsible attitude to their duties in terms of checking whether elderly patients really are fit to drive. I've heard of cases where relatives are begging GPs to contact the DVLA to get their elderly parents etc off the road, but GPs do nothing apparently because they don't want to take their patients' independence away.

[TwoLeftSocks]

I agree, regular testing would be a really good idea, but coupled with better access and transport options for the elderly.

We won't get in the car with FIL but he's not 'unfit' enough for the GP to sign him off.

[BarbarianMum]

DVLA need a reason though - can't just revoke on the say so of a third party can they? Though if anyone as had success with this approach please let me know.

[grimbletart]

Try this reaction test. Get someone to drop a pencil from their shoulder height with arm outstretched. I can catch it within an inch of it leaving the person's hand. Some people of 40 can't do that or anywhere near it. In fact they can't do it before it hits the floor. That means a lot of younger people have deficient reactions. I'm in my 70s.

Doesn't work if you drop it yourself by the way because you "know" when you are going to drop it

[SirChenjin]

How many younger people have deficient reactions compared to older people though grimble? That test measures physical reaction times, but driving is much more than just catching a pencil in mid air.

[bumbleymummy]

YANBU - I agree with the idea of retesting everyone every X years.

[BreakingDad77]

Doctors and or Police just need to have power to write to DVLA to have your licence suspended to which you can appeal by retaking a test.