Duke of Edinburgh’s Road Accident

[SirGawain]

AIBU to ask why on earth is the Duke of Edinburgh driving at the age of 97.

So many cap doffers on this thread

I hope Phil sends her a nice new Kia. It would be better than wrangling via insurance companies and he would come out of it looking like a nicer person.

So many cap doffers on this thread

I will translate. You mean posters on this thread don't agree with you.

How dare they hey

Someone who drove past the accident scene minutes after it happened has posted on this or the other thread. She is clear the sun was shining and it was low in the sky. She, too, was dazzled. This woman would be in just as much pain if she'd been involved in an accident with me but nobody would give a shit. And she wouldn't expect a bunch of flowers.

So many cap doffers on this thread

I'm not sure that's necessarily the case. Certainly my objection is to the automatic assumption that age is the cause, with no evidence to support that. This is a common type of accident, and the stretch of road involved here is apparently a black spot. Also as others have said, if we assume that someone of a certain age must have reaction times incompatible with safe driving, how do we deal with other causes of slower reaction times, such as chronic sleep deprivation in young parents, or maybe morbid obesity? There would be outrage on here. Someone I worked with was involved in an accident with an elderly man, who died as a result. The younger and purportedly fit man who caused the crash due to sleep deprivation is in prison. It's wrong to make sweeping judgements, and this site tolerates horrible ageism.

cap doffer =person who instinctively defers to authority figures

so bluelady you know person A you don't know is telling the truth but person B you also don't know is definitely not telling the truth? How have you decided which way round it is?

cap doffer =person who instinctively defers to authority figures

Say it as many times as you like. Doesn't make it true.

I know what the weather was like where I was that afternoon. That has been verified by someone with nothing to gain by lying. It is in conflict with what has been said by someone who hopes to gain by lying. It's interesting that nothing has been heard from the person who was actually driving the other car. I suspect her insurance company has advised her to keep quiet.

‘Ohdeargodlookat’

Yes I do have authority to comment on why people are told not to apologise after an accident in some cases. It relates to admitting liability. It’s legal and morally fine to say sorry if you do admit liability and where you know you’re wrong. In fact it is a good thing to do if there is no issue you may be wrong.

To the pp who asked whether I’m qualified to say a 97 year old would not have safe reaction times, you’re right I don’t have medical evidence to support that. I say that based on my personal life experience having never met a person over the age of 90 who I believe would be a safe driver (due to slow reaction times which comes with age). I’m still comfortable with saying that and it seems like common sense to me.

It would be fun to start a thread about a 97 year old mother in law who caused an accident but refused to stop driving........

It would be carnage!

The fact that wealthy people "can" self-insure does not, however, mean that the Royal Family do.

Correct - I mention it as a possibility. We are all speculating about almost everything.

Whatever happened I am already sick of seeing her oh so sad face in the Mail.

I say that based on my personal life experience having never met a person over the age of 90 who I believe would be a safe driver
How many have you met?

So many cap doffers on this thread
Bollocks.

It's so very obvious who the cap doffers are

Yes @Wordthe, they're the people who don't agree with you.

I must admit that the •sad• pictures in the red tops of the woman who was injured in the crash are swiftly removing any sympathy I might have felt for her. I hate this sort of blatant opportunism. It is so grabby and undignified.

Is she really intending to sue Prince Philip?

I don't think it's 'cap-doffing' to point out ageism or speculation.

None of us knows exactly what happened here, or what the Duke's exact state of health is/was.
Or am I doffing my cap to refer to him as the Duke?

“Is she really intending to sue Prince Philip?”

Any reason why she shouldn’t?

If he was at fault I would expect compensation - no different from anyone who causes an accident.

He's just an arrogant git, everyone knows that

He can be as arrogant and/or racist as it's possible to be. Neither has any relevance to this.