Duke of Edinburgh’s Road Accident

[SirGawain]

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

He obvs a lizard

The usual suspects are about tonight.

Mary you know best I never earned a fortune caring, nope not me

🦎

have been connected with the DofE Award, the Duke has not been actively involved in recent years (he in his nineties) but in the past he did a great deal personally in all areas of the award. So wind your neck on commenting on something you have no knowledge of 

Yeah too old to be involved and too old to bloody drive!!

The next bloody roundabout is bloody miles away. The Duke of Edinburgh is a busy man.

Is he!?!???

Yes I am. I mean, he is.

but in the past he did a great deal personally in all areas of the award

Must have been the equivalent of working down the pit all your life 🙄

And how many people work down the pit all their lives? This has descended into farce. How much hardship is there in your life @StoneofDestiny? It must be so tough in your comfortable chair bashing your keyboard all day long.

Sorry, late to the party and haven’t RTFT because it’s 32 pages long!

My NDN is 97 and still driving. Her parking is atrocious so I can’t imagine her driving in much better. We live quite remotely so cutting her off from driving would pretty much be cutting her off from society but I do worry about her a lot.

henwee - a good example of why there should be compulsory checks after a certain age to check someone is fit to drive still. otherwise there is too much of a temptation to carry on regardless

The older you get the more you think what the hell it doesn't matter if I died an accident I'm going to die soon anyway
as a person gets more frail the ability to get about under their own steam decreases therefore the incentive to drive increases
so really it's in the old person's interests to keep on driving regardless of how safe they are

Yes I know younger drivers are more reckless but they can in theory become safer drivers, elderly people are only going to get worse

The older you get the more you think what the hell it doesn't matter if I died an accident I'm going to die soon anyway

If you've reached that stage I sincerely hope you aren't driving Word, how old are you that you are so sure you're going to die soon?

Descending into farce this, some comments on here are totally ott.
He should take a test and if he fails give up driving. that’s it.
Also fed up seeing mrs sad face waving her broken arm at any camera just for a few quid.

a good example of why there should be compulsory checks after a certain age to check someone is fit to drive still. otherwise there is too much of a temptation to carry on regardless

Given the stuff I see every single day I suggest the problem isn't confined to a single age group. If there is statistical evidence that old people driving is causing a huge number of crashes and injuries that's one thing - otherwise it's just simplistic ageism.

i agree with wordthe. My FIL looks pretty frail and a bit scatty and is having medical treatment. He wont drive said my DH, MIL wont let him if he's not safe. But he didnt factor in countless hospital and doctors visits for them both and various other trips such as food shopping and the bank...which used up a lot of goodwill from relatives and neighbours. And then he reversed into a car because he couldnt see out of the back window which was misted up!

someone needs to take control and during a period when old people are worried about lots of other things and not totally with it, many arent able to gauge/decide they shouldnt drive

badly - the second worst age group for crashes is over 80, after the 20-29 ish age group (people who have just passed their test and are gaining experience).

There is statistical data that shows the oldest in our population are safer than the youngest drivers. They self-regulate to a far higher degree, but this thread is about bashing the old and ageist, stoning DofE, and attacking anyone else who has any other view....pffft...pointless,just a load of OK nasty vitriol.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24204489

So we should ban all the young drivers going on that 'argument', and start tearing them apart and picking over the bones...leave you to it....

I dont care how busy you are, it is not an excuse for dangerous driving. I used to always come out of a village at the second entrance to the main road, which was further away from me. The first entrance was a very tricky place to join fast moving traffic and there had been a number of fatalities there.

And no I dont think Prince Philip is an admirable man. He is very misogynistic and racist in public. He can not manage to even do the bare minimum in public engagements of being polite, pleasant and inoffensive. If it was an appointed job, he would have been sacked decades ago.

I avoid driving and cars like the plague, I want to live for as long as possible

I am happy to drive and drive pretty much anywhere. But I know I am driving a killing machine and drive with that knowledge in mind.

But I know I am driving a killing machine and drive with that knowledge in mind.

You drive a tank?

Loads of people fought in the war, loads support their partners and work in dangerous difficult jobs as well as running voluntary groups, not just giving their names to it! All that without recognition, a squad of free enormous houses, servants on call and buckets load of taxpayers money given for the privilege.
He can't even be arsed to be courteous or civil on his foreign travels, meeting the public or attending events.
No, nothing at all to admire.

Abso-bloody-lutely!