AIBU to think drivers (more so elderly) need to be retested?

[ayonoosh]

I know I'll probably get lumped with being ageist here. I want to preface I think all drivers should be tested after perhaps 10 years but once at retirement age or 70s, every few years?

I live in a town that's predominantly one way. In the past 7 days I have seen 2 elderly drivers run red lights. One elderly driver go the wrong way up a very well signed street, with other drivers beeping and flashing and they just kept going, one elderly driver driving on the opposite side of the road going onto a short duel carriage way (!!) and an elderly driver drive down the middle of the bollards in Tesco.

this isn't an unusual amount of it too, there are so many posts on the local community pages with cars and registrations and people posting about it. It is so incredibly dangerous. We have a uni in town too and have our fair share of young drivers, I do see them hurtling around town at stupid speeds but they aren't as common as the elderly drivers reported.

I know young drivers cause more crashes, but elderly people tend to have low mileage bias, I think if they drove mile for mile the stats may differ. Elderly drivers responsible for deaths have increased by 42% in the last decade.

AIBU to think mandatory testing for all, especially for elderly should be implemented? I know the money, time, stubbornness, etc etc make it unrealistic, and there are terrible drivers of all ages of course. But if age related reaction times are something that doesn't apply to you, then surely it's a tick box activity and back to driving?

im seeing increasingly more elderly pootling at 50 in the middle lane on the M25, as well as stupid taxi drivers doing it too. they ought to be retested too.

what's everyone's thoughts?

I wasn't talking about you.

Another consideration is that we need to look at why people continue to drive when they aren't able to. Mostly, it's not because they're stupid or stubborn or whatever but because they need to get to places (yes, elderly people have commitments too!) and often driving is the only feasible option. Bus services are woeful in many parts of the country, unreliable and infrequent. Bus stops have no/inadequate seating/shelter. Dedicated transport services for elderly and disabled people have been cut everywhere due to funding issues. Taxis aren't always reliable, or even available outside of cities. All the problems that cause people of all ages to use cars for transport also apply to elderly people, but they have additional limitations that mean they, often, can't just jump on a bike.

I was fed up of people telling me that I'd be taking away my mother's independence if we tried to stop her driving.
My response was that I'd rather she lose her independence than somebody lost their life due to her poor driving.

Technically everyone does - in that they are supposed to report to the DVLA any health problems that might interfere with driving. I'm sure many don't.
In the same way that most people will drive when tired, or taking medication that says you shouldn't drive etc.

Completely agree.
a poster admitted her granny was a menace on the road and people laughed.

nobody would be laughing if that was a young driver.
but ageism only works one way evidently!

Yes, it's everyone's responsibility to report any changes to the DVLA, regardless of age.

Actuaries with the actual data disagree.

Most policies offer mileage limits, an older person paying for eg a 10k mileage limit will still get cheaper quotes than a 22 year old on a 10k limit because mile for mile they have less accidents.
Age doesn’t become a significant negative factor until late 80s for most insurers which is long after the age where regular licence renewals requires a medical declaration. People are driving longer and older than, say, 30-40 years ago so absolute numbers of accidents in the age group will rise.

Regular retesting of all ages is fine in theory but it won’t happen - there are insane wait lists for tests already.

… and here are some accredited statistics to back that up:

Government figures

Scroll down to see the graph. Indeed, it shows that 17-24s casualties are greater than any other age group, until you reach those aged over 86.

I agree, although most of the seriously poor driving that I see is by middle aged drivers. I swear they lost their skills during Covid. The overtaking on 40mph limited rural roads with blind bends near here is chronic. I also blame it on the number of people who have moved to the area from London and are still cutting up people right left and centre.

I get so fed up with people hiding behind the 'ageist' insult.

If elderly people find it offensive that they are generalised, welcome to the real world, maybe stop banging on about how offensive things are and admit that as you age, your mind and body get weaker and this inevitably affects your ability to drive safely.

Luckily most elderly drivers stick to small journeys locally but if they were doing the miles an average younger person was we all know they would be causing a heck of a lot more accidents and deaths. By all means theres plenty of younger dangerous drivers and plenty of people with health issues that should mean further or more frequent testing but disease and comorbidities rise quickly once you reach a certain age, it's not ageist its fact.
I've nearly been crashed into twice in the past month by elderly drivers being completely over the line or just not seeing my car and people minimising it by saying "its only a bump" or "only money" are ridiculous. I genuinely see elderly people as the biggest threats when I'm in the car with my kids and I feel like it's a matter of time before I'm hit.

You would be so surprised about how hard it is to take away a licence or to stop someone driving if they want to continue. People with memory issues and cognitive issues are often still allowed to drive which is insane!

I agree there needs to be much more injected into public transport.

however, as my parents are planning to do and what their parents did, they moved from semi rural into towns with fantastic public transport for that very reason.

The worst driving is usually done by those in a BMW, I wonder why that is, this is all ages.

When people are being ageist, to call them so is not an insult!

God, I read that as BIWI to start with!

(Perhaps I should get my eyes tested? )

Completely agree and my experiences are the same. The only time I've been crashed into has been by the elderly too.

await the generalisation comments

The only time I’ve been crashed into was by a young man on his bicycle.

So does my experience trump yours? Of course it doesn’t.

Anecdotes do not equal data.

I agree 100%
I have personally seen FAR more accidents or potential accidents caused by elderly drivers. Yes younger drivers cause more fatal accidents but isn't that just because elderly avoid driving on the motorways a lot of the time? Lost count of the times I've seen or heard locally about elderly drivers mixing up accelerator and brake and going into another car, or mounting the pavement, or going the wrong way down a one way street. You just don't see youngsters doing these things. YES they're less likely to kill their passengers but I bet there's more chance of an elderly person hitting a child on the pavement or in a car park.

I do think the system could probably do with an overhaul. Possibly younger drivers need longer periods of supervision, no night time driving initially or passenger limitations. Drivers of hgv and bus drivers get mandatory assessments. It’s not beyond us to set up a system just people don’t want to. Maybe everyone needs to resit a theory test and get an eye test when renewing photo part every ten years. Shorter intervals for over 70s.

My own family has stepped in and removed car keys from older an older relative she lives in an assisted living place. Everyone has their own flat snd her chums there really encouraged her to keep driving. She has taken up with a toy boy ( he is 78!) who drives her around instead and she buys the coffees.

ah, well I drive a BMW and have done since I was 23.
i know BMW / Audi / Mercedes/ Tesla drivers get the most slack and I agree as a whole they are pretty shit, the only accidents I've been involved in (in my BMWs) are from elderly drivers.

We had to stop my mum driving when her dementia kicked in. But it took her a while to accept that she was becoming a menace. I did something bad to my neck a while back, which meant turning to look at junctions was painful and therefore slower. It gave me an insight into what driving could be like for me in 30 years. Night driving is already a pita.

I live in a place with lots of elderly drivers. They tend to drive cars that are too big for them, which means they struggle to go in and out of their driveways or gauge where the white lines are. They also can't seem to understand that you can't cut corners on junctions because, you know, someone might be there.

I need my car for work. It's fairly old, so would be written off if hit. I drive motorways and lanes pretty much every day. I'm careful, because I can't get to work without a car. It does piss me off when a lot of my neighbours, who are using their cars to tootle about, may well end up totalling my car.

Yep, with the declining eyesight, there's constant worry about seeing children in the paths and crossing the roads. Reaction times too are far better in younger people as a whole, unless under the influence of alcohol and drugs (which should be a forever ban if so, not just a few years.)

We tried reporting DF to DVLA who approached his GP who was very wishy washy. Said that he would tell a relative like DF not to drive but wouldn’t confirm that he shouldn’t drive. DF had had a MI , a TIA, had vascular dementia and had numerous minor accidents.
in the end DB took the keys from him.

Nope, yours doesn't trump mine and mine doesn't trump yours. We live in a beautiful world where we can all share experiences.

although someone tried to trump me early in in the thread that their loved one was killed by a young driver. So I responded that my 17 year old friend at college was killed by an elderly driver.. so if anyone's trying to trump experiences, it's not me.

you used to have to take a medical at the age of 75
that i believe has gone out off the window

Omg I've been caught in the middle of one of these races more than once - utterly terrifying, at 60 mph on a busy road. It's a massive problem here as well - the young lads from the villages bomb around on their modded up toss-machines and cause horrific accidents. It's why I have a dash cam. The old boy I encountered doing 15 mph on the wrong side of the road is positively benign in comparison - he was easy enough to steer clear of and he wasn't going to kill anyone. (I did report him though.)