To wonder how on earth they will sentence a 96 year old?!

[dreamer24]

news.sky.com/story/woman-96-admits-causing-death-of-pedestrian-after-she-panicked-and-mounted-the-kerb-13204265

A 96 year old woman killed a woman in her 70s after she lost control of her car. Due to be sentenced on Monday, apparently. It's obviously completely tragic that a woman has died, but I can't imagine a woman who is almost 100 will get a custodial sentence?

@JustKeepSwimmingJust it's just that isn't it - people who seriously struggle to walk are supposedly okay with the concentration and energy it takes to drive? I'm sorry but I don't see it

I am not a doctor, but there are plenty of people with mobility issues who are fully mentally competent. Lots of people with disabilities drive adapted vehicles. Having had a good go at ageism, we're now onto ableism!

The only person in this position I've closely observed is my Dad. He was becoming frail in body but had all his faculties to the very end. However, I don't think he was strong enough to be driving, not because he struggled with the short, simple, very familiar local trips which were all he did at the end, but because in an emergency I wasn't confident he would have been able to react quickly and use his strength to control the car. It wasn't put to the test.

Perhaps you would struggle behind the wheel because your reading comprehension is awful.

Of course some elderly people can still drive, that doesn’t change the fact that biologically the abilities needed for things like driving degrade with age and as a pattern many people become unable to drive due to age.

That is not ageism and to compare is to racism is actually really disgusting.

Nope, that’s why I asked.
I like to be near stuff, one of my brothers lives in a village (but he can get a cab) and the route when the weather is bad doesn’t bear thinking about, you couldn’t pay me to live in the sticks. I like to know that I’m a 15 minute walk away from most things and not a 15 minute drive for a pint of milk.

Well, now you know. Not everyone is you.

I’m 50 and I struggle to walk because of the condition I have but when sitting my legs function perfectly well to drive.

Well obviously not everyone is me (although that does sound fabulous) excuse me for asking.

@Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g it's not ageism or ableism to say that people should be more careful before getting behind the wheel of a two ton weapon. Driving is not a right.

My great aunt was a lovely lady. I remember she had a cane and couldn't walk very well, so I helped her to her car one day after a visit. Took ages to help her get to the car and get in, spent another minute for her to buckle her belt on her own. Then she took off like a rocket. I was maybe 8 or so and I remember thinking oh no she's going to kill herself. I told my grandmother and a few other relatives about it when I walked back and they just seemed to think it was funny. Old lady that can barely use her legs or arms, driving like a speed demon hahaha. When someones own relatives can't/won't step in, who's left? She had a valid license so that's all that mattered apparently. Who were they to tell her she shouldn't drive? I didn't say anything else as they were my elders, but even at that age it seemed so wrong to just let it go on. This was 30 years ago so I doubt this problem will ever go away.

Yes, if you read my posts on this thread you will see that you are preaching to the converted on that one. But that's now what you said above.

My mum can still do cryptic crosswords but alzheimer'smeans her spatial awareness is shot and she can't step up a kerb without tripping. Thankfully she gave up driving after repeatedly hitting the kerb.

Everyone always jumps on the too old to drive bandwagon after a case like this, but the stats just don’t back up an age related ban. By far the most likely group to have an accident is the 17-30 year olds. People over 70 do start having slightly more accidents than middle aged people, but they are overwhelmingly low speed bumps with no or minor injuries. Old people simply do not cause more deaths or life changing injuries than other drivers either as a group or per mile driven, and a ban/retake requirement would cause further isolation and poverty for an already vulnerable population.

So yes, the case is tragic. I feel for the victim and their family. But a one-off event that makes the news precisely because it is so rare does not justify punishing all older people. And I’ll not even start on the ablist comments!

So what laws are we deciding don't receive jail time because the guilty party are old? Is historic child abuse ok? What if a 96 year old stabs someone to death rather than killing them with a car? If you break the law than you get the punishment or justice is a further mockery than it already is

@AirborneElephant is that not due to the fact that older people don’t travel many miles though and are generally more likely to have knocks and prangs that they just don’t report? Of course I’m not dismissing that younger people generally do cause more accidents that do result in injuries and deaths and would not mind the age to start learning being raised but I just wonder if numbers are somewhat skewed

I think re-taking driving test at 70, 80 and 90. We don’t let 14,15,16 year olds drive because of their age. I think that after retirement / 70 it makes sense to check people are still safe. Retirement in itself acknowledges that people are not as capable as they once were.

Agreed. 100% support free public transport for the elderly

Exactly that. A pension is basically an unemployment benefit for incapacity. You are given money because you are too ill/frail to earn money.

Yet those same people are considered healthy and safe to drive.

This is such a good point.
Arguably pensions should just be for those who are incapacitated in some way. That was the original intent.

And for disabled people surely? I mean we have lots of elderly people saying they shouldn't be subject to the same scrutiny I am under as a disabled person with a medical licence. Surely that flips both ways.

It's a good idea but would have to be more frequent. Mental and physical decline happens so much quicker once you've past seventy for many people. Every 3 years I think is a fair number.

You can't just take someone's keys though.

They can just report to their insurance company that their keys have been stolen and get new ones.

It's very, very difficult to stop people driving if they want to. There should be some kind of mechanism where people can report dangerous drivers and they'd be investigated with medical checks etc but there isn't.

Would be useful for men in vans who think they own the road too.

agree, but that supposes there is public transport.

They will be again. Which is why the pension age is going up and up. This generation of pensioners will be the last with a long healthy retirement.

I’m mid-40s and fully expect to be in my official retirement age to be in my 70s.

10 years between checks at those ages is far to long. It needs to be a check of some description that's done every 2-3 years. Not necessarily a full test but a sight and reactions test would do.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2nkv3j7e6o
This happened near me. So very sad. Poor parents.

I think regular retesting is required.
Not just eye sight.
My opinion on whether the lady to whom we're talking about should go to prison, as the charge is such, a custodial is prescribed. But as the law stands, a suspended sentence is classed as custodial.
Is it in the publics interest to lock her up costing thousands?