To think people over 80 should not drive

[TorridAntelope]

I don't care how bright and sparky they are, the stats show they are dangerous

It’s nothing to do with age! We have friends who should not be driving at 70! It’s about safety and being competent. I know many people at 80 who are perfectly competent.

Do you though? How do you judge that then?

Again, I'm sure there are people younger than 17 who could drive quite safely, but it's not allowed because in general if it is felt that those younger than 17 are not capable of driving responsibly and safely. It would be no different to banning those of age 80+

@Katypp They are people I know well. I’m 70 - when you are older you should adjust how you drive if you need to and certainly stop if you, or anyone else, believes you are unsafe. I’m certainly aware it’s not older people causing most accidents. I’m frustrated by anyone who is a poor driver but they absolutely are not all old!

DH (who is older) and me own a Macan, a Cayman. A BMW ix3x a Discovery and a Merc SL. We can drive. We intend to keep driving and the IX3 has good reaction times! Seriously though, most older people in their 80s restrict their driving to times when they know they are safe. Us? We still like track days!

Precisely why I think they should increase the age at which anyone can start to drive. It's not just inexperience, it's often immaturity too.

I don’t think you can put an age on it. People of ANY AGE who are no longer fit to drive, or have poor eye sight, shouldn’t.

I’ve always thought that everyone who drives should have a mandatory eye test at least every 10 years (and possibly more frequently after a certain age). I’ve known a few people who’ve refused to acknowledge that they need glasses but have kept driving anyway.

How very authoritarian of you. It completely depends on the individual.

By that same logic, we should be banning all drivers over 75/80 because everyone deteriorates with age. Even worse, the elderly are guaranteed to deteriorate.

Apologies. I thought I had quoted this post with my above comment.

Come back to us when you’re 80 and surrender your licence.

Agree.

They are also likely to stick to short, local trips - shopping, hair or doctor appointments - in areas where there is a low speed limit and they are very familiar with lights, roundabouts, dodgy intersection, etc.

In my professional role I see a lot of people who can no longer drive due to their eyesight, they are often incredulous, particularly the elderly, declaring they can drive just fine. Yet the actual driving standard is really incredibly lenient. Allowing for a significant drop in central and peripheral vision before driving is not legal anymore. Even those JUST passing the test I find it scary they are able to drive when they are simultaneously struggling to navigate other elements of their daily lives due to vision loss.

Then there are those passing the vision tests but awaiting hip replacements, being wheeled I go appts by porters, with clear significant cognitive decline who drive themselves everywhere. Who definitely do not seem like the have capacity to be in charge of a vehicle.

Proportionally many more over 80s shouldn't be driving than should. There should be annual thourough health checks and more stringent cut off I believe

And yet none of that stops very easily preventable accidents like people killed at zebra crossings etc. a lack of ability to avoid unexpected hazards is what leads to most accidents with elderly drivers and therefore the accidents they do have tend to be catastrophic.

There's a serious problem with this report! It completely fails to provide useful comparisons between older & younger drivers, and doesn't separate KSI to the driver from others.

The text says that older drivers are more likely to be KSI in accidents, but lumps self-injury in with injuries inflicted on others.

I mean, I agree there's a problem. I stopped driving because I decided by myself that my health condition makes me potentially unsafe. But it pisses me off enormously when govt data presents a biased picture, as this unquestionably does.

I haven't read the whole thread, and my apologies if this has been mentioned before. In Ontario, Canada, seniors aged 80 and over must renew their driver's license every two years, which includes a vision screening and a cognitive function test.

Seems sensible

The BBC have just reported the verdict in a court case in Northern Ireland where an 84 year-old hit a woman in a collision (who died). The defendant had reversed out of a space in a car park & was driving forward when she hit the victim. The defendant could not explain why she had not seen the victim - she pleaded guilty.

The judge said that this met the criteria for imprisonment, but due to her previous good character, remorse & guilty plea this was suspended for 2 years. She also has an 18-month driving ban & will have to sit an extended test to be able to drive again (she says she doesn’t intend to drive).

Whether sentences for driving offences are serious enough is probably a whole other debate, but I wish the BBC had reported the reason why the judge did not give her a lifetime ban.

depends how you look at it, imo. I did say danger to life - not whether it was someone else or their own. The trauma for relatives and friends etc is still the same whether old or young and the cost to society, the NHS, etc is still high in all cases. Apart from the actual injuries to themselves or their premature death

I know it's anecdote rather than data but this was horrific and could have easily involved more damage at the time.

And not even a permanent ban, just a fine. Less than an MOT and brake overhaul.

https://www.devonlive.com/news/local-news/pensioner-runs-pedestrian-over-after-10817112?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwdGRjcAQDGpxjbGNrBAMaP2V4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHh0oAZc3EYqDH7-lZVdM9NOxILEHq25LPjkzwyETKn9QmeAKMrQ82JFVM9Ad_aem_KU6O92qKF7ljK792vYbVRA

What a pathetic post. A relative of mine was killed by an elderly female driver who was practically blind, but continued to drive.

The judge effectively has. There’s absolutely no way she would pass a modern driving test, or obtain insurance cover.

Likewise the judge in the above Devon case, like the Northern Ireland one, didn't go for a ban.

This road is a straight forward one way system, up hill. She crossed the pavement and pinned the victim up against the Boots shop window. It was horrific for all involved in the immediate minutes after.

Rural area but with grocery delivery and generally quite a community spirit. So different to a teenager losing it on a bend and landing in a hedge.

@ValidPistachioObviously personal experience is raw for you but overall far more people involved in car accidents are younger. Often 3 in a car at the time. Happened several times around here.

That’s not the point, the point is lifetime bans are very rare and the reasoning needs to be known.