No excuse for poor driving

[Ohtherewearethen]

Am I unreasonable in thinking that age, anxiety, medical problems, etc, are not an acceptable reason to drive in such a poor way that it is actually dangerous? There has to be a minimum standard for driving and if for whatever reason you can't meet that standard then you should not be driving?
My neighbour's mother is nearly 90 and still driving. Her driving is appalling but he says, well it's her independence, if she didn't drive I'd have to take her around, people round here recognise her car and know she's elderly, etc, but I just cannot accept those as good enough reasons for her to still be driving.
Please note, I am absolutely not suggesting all elderly people or people with medical complaints (I have some myself) are poor drivers or shouldn't drive. I just very strongly believe that these are not good enough reasons to excuse very poor driving.

‘People recognise her car’ is fine if she only ever drives to the bottom of the road and no one who doesn’t live on said road ever drives down it.

We’re too obsessed with the ‘independence’ of driving as a society. That’s why we have so many bad drivers who scraped through their tests when really they shouldn’t be driving at all.

Just because one can get a license
Don't mean they should
It's not a right to drive but a privilege.

I say that as a non driver due to extreme anxiety I'd be a danger

There's a local lady near me who you could have been writing this about.
Sadly she ran over and badly injured a child on a pedestrian crossing, very nearly killed the child, she had no idea she'd hit them and carried on to get her shopping.
She no longer drives after she was given a ban and was very lucky to escape a prison sentence.

YANBU I'd be very tempted to report her dangerous driving.

Had this dilemma in my own circle. One auntie worked out for herself that her reactions weren't as sharp as they had been, and stopped driving; she didn't wait for an accident, but was still very much compos mentis. But my friend had the awful dilemma of getting the car keys off her husband, who very sadly was afflicted with early onset Alzheimers, while keenly aware of the fact that she was robbing him of his independence. In that case, age was not the issue; he was still in his fifties, but he could not be allowed to risk other peoples' lives. Much younger people can suffer from medical conditions which make them unsafe.
Your neighbour lacks a social conscience if he is aware that she isn't safe, but is unwilling to protect her and others on the road. His only concern should be whether to report her without consulting her, not selfishly avoiding the hassle of being obliged to ferry her around.

Squeekums, I really respect you for recognising that driving isn't for you. I had a colleague years ago who was very anxious and I refused to get in a car with her. She'd take ages at junctions and roundabouts, start to pull off then stop, she was jumpy and she'd press hard on the brakes when a car cans in the opposite direction, etc. Then she'd panic when people beeped at her. She said it was due to her anxiety but blaming it on that doesn't keep her and others safe!

Absolutely agree. My nan is one of these and I am trying to get her to stop driving

Depends what you mean by poor driving. Obviously no one who is unsafe should be on the road but if you mean someone going slightly slower than you would like or playing it safe at roundabouts and junctions then it is impatient drivers that are the problem. Sometimes reckless drivers cause more severe accidents than nervous drivers. Agree though that people with slow reaction times and poor concentration should stop driving.

People need to understand life is not only about rights, but also obligations (to the society). If the neighbour is unsafe to drive, she needs to stop before she kills someone!

We’re too obsessed with the ‘independence’ of driving as a society. That's because we don't have any realistic alternatives to driving if you want any sort of life outside your home.

Yanbu

Some countries re-test anyone over 80 for their driving test which is a good idea. I've had several older family friends and relatives who couldnt see the best (despite glasses!), reaction time was slower, got lost and shouldn't have been driving at all! Imagine if they hit someone, a child for example.

YANBU. We need many many more Police so they can be stopping the worst offenders.