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?

18 months suspended.

Our justice system is a joke

I don't think anything harsher would have made sense for someone so very old. The prison service does not include geriatric care. It would have been quite different had the person been younger, they would have had a custodial sentence as somebody was killed by their bad driving.

Don´t you have medicals in the UK? I am in Spain and we have a licence that lapses every 10 years. Mine is up now. (I am 50). I have to take a medical, with eyesight tests and also have a virtual driving skills, which tests your reactions. My mum´s licence was revoked the second she was diagnosed alzheimers.

@ErinBell01

Did the DVLA give you a reason why they couldn't be more proactive and helpful?

I agree. Maybe we should all be retested every 5 or 10 years - there are SO many people who clearly shouldn't be driving at all. People who are scared to go over 40mph at any time, including on motorways or dual carriageways, or who don't know how to give way at a roundabout (seems to be just about everyone these days) should not be on the road.

The driver should pay - driving is a privilege, not a right
Other countries manage to have retests at 70 (Sweden, Netherlands, Switzerland spring to mind) so start at that age, then e ery five years roll it back five years, gives plenty of time for the infrastructure to do this to build up
And think of all the jobs created for licensed testers!
A well organised system would automatically book your retest
Or it could be like your passport - your responsibility to organise well in advance

She got an 18 month suspended sentence, 5 year driving ban and a £2,000 fine.

96-year-old sentenced for causing death by dangerous driving

www.thetimes.com/article/11df214b-1293-4a61-ad66-bd4587f7d7b9?shareToken=25397ead28a1ade865e30dcb972a8ea9

I strongly believe that once you reach 75 year old you either give up your driving licence or take a driving theory and practice test, along with a medical and it should be paid for by you.

With Ubers and taxis its cheaper to use them than keep a car.

There is a Hugh rise in blue badge holders and how many of them are still driving, yet unable to react

How many driving tests would need to be provided daily to ensure everyone could continue to drive?

for over 70s they could do simulated tests first before going out on the road - which if they fail they can't proceed further. These types of machines would be easy to set up and not have to have hundreds of driving examiners

“With Ubers and taxis its cheaper to use them than keep a car.”

This is simply not true.

I agree with retesting at certain ages to avoid such tragedies.
Just last week I was coming off the motorway, you could go left or right after the exit, I was the only one in the right lane. The car ahead in the left, without indicating, very, very slowly started drifting in front of me (speed limit was 50), so I slowed down as I could tell they were about to cut me up.
When I eventually went past at a later turn, the driver was a visibly very elderly man, face almost touching the steering wheel, peering into the road. I honestly don't think he even realised I was there when he cut me up. Worries me as if someone else had kept going at 50 and not anticipated his dangerous driving, there would have been a serious accident.

This is actually a really good point. Would she have been provided with the nursing care she would have needed had she been given a custodial sentence?
While she may not need that level of care now, it would be almost inevitable in a short while.

Well that very much depends on what journeys you do and what car you have. FIL insisted on having a brand new Skoda Kodiaq on a lease and did less than 1500 miles in the nearly 2 years before he wrote it off. The tax and insurance alone would have covered his weekly trip into the town centre and medical appointments by taxi.

it is true

my next door neighbour has just sold his car and it was costing him £1500 a year in insurance alone due to his age

he gets a taxi to the couple of places he needs to go each week and it costs him £25

he now has £5000 sat in his bank instead of on the driveway

and doesn't have to pay for the MOT at £50 and servings the car at £100

If you have an expensive car and use it infrequently then taxis can be cheaper.

That doesn’t mean that taxis and Ubers are cheaper than running a car.

Because if taxis and Ubers were cheaper than running a car, it would not be a profitable business.

you think £5000 is an expensive car?

Many older people only use their car once or twice a week when they get into their 90s - that is the norm rather than the exception

Many older people work, Mike.

Because if taxis and Ubers were cheaper than running a car, it would not be a profitable business.

Of course its a profitable business, but its not based on private car use

how many people in their 90s do you know still working?

And if she’d been driving a Nissan micro rather than a Chelsea tractor, the horrific tragedy could have been avoided.

Almost half a million over 70s are still working.

Do you uber and taxi everywhere?

Do you find it cheaper than driving?

If they are safe on the road they don’t need to worry!
If they aren’t well tough luck.

I agree. I just take exception to people pretending it costs pennies to use taxis.

Do you uber and taxi everywhere?
I'm not over 70 but I fill up my car with petrol 4 times a year and the rest of the time walk, cycle or bus (which atm is still £2)