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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Elderly drivers should be tested

306 replies

HeidiHoNeighbour · 10/08/2020 22:49

91 year old killed a 3 year old in Edinburgh.
She’s been arrested.

Where I live (NW London) lots of elderly drivers are scarier than the teens racing.

A woman was killed in Sainsbury’s car park near me and the 80ish year old was upset he’d be late!

I think everyone should be retested every ten years.

OP posts:
VinylDetective · 14/08/2020 16:22

Not going to happen, is it? Even Johnson’s magic money forest can only go so far.

ReplacementPlasticUterus · 14/08/2020 17:08

I've had 'only' 4 accidents over the years and every single one of them was the fault of a driver well over the age of 80 who was just oblivious to their surroundings.

One clipped the front of my car when pulling out of a side road, another hit the accelerator instead of the brake at a set of traffic lights on red, the third managed to scrape the entire length of my car while parking next to mine, and the last inexplicably put her car into reverse at a junction and reversed into me, despite me beeping and flashing my lights when I saw what she was doing. In the first and last cases I had to drive after them flashing and beeping until they pulled over and told them they'd hit me! The parking incident was unbelievable - the noise was horrendous, I was walking back to my car at the time and about 25 people turned round to see what the heck was going on, but all I could do was watch in horror. She was most surprised when she got out of the car and I pointed out what she'd done.

I don't know what the answer is. I suppose in the grand scheme of things there just isn't the will/money/political incentive to put in place additional testing for any drivers.

Heffalooomia · 14/08/2020 17:18

I had to drive after them flashing and beeping until they pulled over and told them they'd hit me!
should be an instant ban surelyAngry

startrek90 · 14/08/2020 18:10

I thought it was illegal to leave the scene of an accident? Maybe a call to the police is better for these sorts of drivers.

DGRossetti · 14/08/2020 18:53

@startrek90

I thought it was illegal to leave the scene of an accident? Maybe a call to the police is better for these sorts of drivers.
Generally only if someone is injured.

Personally I wouldn't chase after them, having witnessed their inability to drive. The chances of them mowing someone down as they zoom off would haunt me. Dashcam. Police. Job done.

CHIRIBAYA · 14/08/2020 20:21

I don't think the parents of that three year old boy would find any consolation in the statistics that are being argued back and forth by posters here. The fact is that the driver was not safe to drive and if something could have been done to keep her off the road then it should have been done. His right to a life and a future far outweighs any human rights or liberty issues for drivers. What is the point of driving lessons for people who are never going to recover previous cognitive function or the reactions they had when they were younger? I think in there are sadly going to be many more deaths like this tragic case before a trend is recognised and something is done about it. Given our ageing population I suspect this trend will manifest in the next decade but God only knows how many people will die before action is taken.

Hearwego · 14/08/2020 20:28

It’s been said many times by professionals but driving is a privilege and not a right.

A bus driver who was in his 70s, with dementia I seem to recall, killed a child at an Sainsbury’s in Coventry.

I do believe that drivers of a certain age should be checked and not self certificate themselves safe. Surely that’s safer for them too?

Hearwego · 14/08/2020 20:32

Young people do kill people on roads but that’s not down to their bodies being old or age related medical conditions!
The young people who kill on on the roads are young, stupid and inexperienced. This is down to their driving attitude.

Hearwego · 14/08/2020 20:35

There comes a time when certain older drivers should do the right thing and hang up their keys. Buses and trains exist for a reason.

Porcupineinwaiting · 14/08/2020 21:23

Seconding the call to report dangerous elderly relatives to the dvla. You can do this anonymously but be aware you may need to speak to theirgp too.

The self certification thing is crap. As my dad's dementia worstened he was increasingly unaware of his own abilities and thought he was an excellent driver (which he always had been). So when asked to self certificate was happy to do so. The ludicrous thing is was he was allowed to do so but, had he hurt someone, he would have been highly unlikely to stand trial as - dementia.

Horehound · 14/08/2020 21:26

This was truly dreadful, but far far more people are killed or seriously injured by drivers under the age of 30. Test them every year?
“It is clear to see from data released by Gov.uk last year, that drivers aged 20–29 pose the most risk on our roads. With dramatically higher figures than any other age group, drivers in their twenties were last year involved in 20,841 road incidents of all severities – considerably higher than any other age group and drastically greater than road incidents of all severities involving drivers aged 70–79 (3,254) and road incidents involving drivers aged 80 and over (1,939.)” think figures from the AA.

Mintjulia · 15/08/2020 02:34

@porcupineinwaiting - perhaps you should report ALL dangerous drivers to the dvla, not just the elderly ones !

flatulencebythebucket · 15/08/2020 02:36

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

Horehound · 15/08/2020 03:15

@flatulencebythebucket

Nobody over 65 should be driving. They get a bus pass & if you're too old to work, you're too old to drive.
I think this is the most stupid comment I've ever read on here in the whole 15+ years I've been here.

Ffs 😐

AmICrazyorWhat2 · 15/08/2020 03:57

Yeah, ‘cos your mind and body stop working the day you turn 65. Right....🤣

theBelgranoSisters · 15/08/2020 04:34

OMG op so bloody true-they are public health risk. Seen far too many OAPs with vision impairments& a general air of belligerence..

echt · 15/08/2020 04:39

OMG op so bloody true-they are public health risk. Seen far too many OAPs with vision impairments& a general air of belligerence

Where is hullygully when you need her?

Kill them.

echt · 15/08/2020 04:43

Nobody over 65 should be driving. They get a bus pass & if you're too old to work, you're too old to drive

Do you know anything about access to the state pension/bus services...er...anything.

justilou1 · 15/08/2020 05:16

My mum was always a dangerous driver.... that was on her. She was the sort to bash into cars while parking at the supermarket, then move to another spot and not leave a note. As she aged, she often didn’t notice. She would hit posts, poles, other cars, parked cars, trolleys, etc... She would tailgate the cars in front of her - swearing at them like a demented Cruella deVille. She would go past where she was trying to find, so screech to a stop in the middle of the road, get out and leave her door open while cars banked up behind her. This was long before she was elderly. She was just batshit crazy and dangerous. No amount of calling the police would get anything done. Then later on, she was diagnosed with lung cancer and COPD and given a blue badge. This gave her more of a sense of self-importance. Woe betide anyone parking in HER parks. (Regardless of their own badge!) The cancer went to her brain eventually, and she still insisted upon driving. She couldn’t lift her head properly. She could barely see. I hid her keys. She had a new set cut - twice. I called the police... I called her GP, who said “What do you expect me to do about it?”. Here in Australia he is legally required to take her license. I reported him and her to the Main Roads Department AND the Police. Nothing. I ended up taking her car to a friend’s place and leaving it there. I told her that she had left it there and caught a taxi home, and she believed me. I just kept procrastinating about getting the cab to collect it.

Pixxie7 · 15/08/2020 05:24

Totally agree my narcissistic mother was a nightmare she was ok until she was about 75 but then quite frankly became dangerous. She wouldn’t listen to anyone and her dr kept saying she was ok to drive. It wasn’t until she was 85 and her car breaking down to get her to stop. I am just so glad she didn’t hurt anybody.

greytminds · 15/08/2020 05:51

The only person I know who has been killed in an RTA was mown down whilst out running by an 88 year old who didn’t see him. They admitted causing death by careless driving and received a ban and a fine but should never have been driving in the first place.

Isinknot · 15/08/2020 06:59

Bloody drivers. Learn to walk!

ivykaty44 · 15/08/2020 07:07

I agree testing every 10 years from passing test & testing after reaching 12 points on licence to regain licence. I’m sure this would concentrate the mind to drive more carefully

ivykaty44 · 15/08/2020 07:11

Horehound

So raising the legal driving age and introducing free bus passes for those under 30 could save lives - if it kept that age group from driving

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