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

You could be describing my driving in the year after I passed my test!

IMO there should definitely be regular testing after 70 and maybe an automatic notification to the DVLA sent for certain medical issues. My mothers husband had a stroke and dementia and I later found out he was still driving with my mother (who doesn’t drive and is the least observant person ever) telling him when to stop/turn etc. I think some people just see it as their right to drive regardless of the risk to others.

Or people under 30. Too aggressive and inexperienced, however good looking they are.

Very old and very young drivers are both more dangerous statistically, but it's two quite different mechanisms.

There was an awful thread on here a few months ago, an elderly neighbour ran over and killed the OPs cat which had been on the pavement.

When she went to his house to confront him, he was completely unaware that he'd driven any way other than normally, or hit anything.

This is very interesting, thank you for posting.

I would never have thought of approaching the problem of accidents and road deaths from that angle, but it makes sense

My area has an older demographic, so I’m not seeing as many young drivers. The public transport is also very good. It is habit in our area that over 60s drive more.

DH and I gave up driving in our mid 70s as we felt the stress was too much. I do think that at 80 there should be a driving test but not an automatic ban from driving.

My mother in law is 84 and she is a perfect driver !
And people who shouldn't drive are those who are careless
And most people that dangerously drive are those that use MOBILE PHONES
So stop the pile on OP alot of over 80s need this independence !
Maybe the government should make something that stops mobile phone usage in the car or stop making cars that go faster than 70 miles per hour or stop 17 years olds buying cars that are over 1 litre engines !
The government doesn't care they could do all these things but they don't ask yourself why ?

There needs to be stricter assessments from the age of 80. As a minimum people apply for licence renewal every two years not three and there needs to be a very recent eye test including the old spot test. Plus automatic notification of any health condition that could hinder driving and this needs to be done by the GP not the driver.

It's not unreasonable to have restrictions on younger drivers. That could be a requirement for a black box or limits on taking younger passengers for drivers under the age of 25.

Equally, not unreasonable to require more stringent tests for older drivers. Eyesight is only part of the problem. A retest would be immensely stressful for elderly drivers and many would self select by not taking it. But it's probably not unfair to require it at an age when many drivers' ability is failing.

On the other hand, how many experienced drivers many years from their test would pass a resit? I suspect many would find it a challenge with years of engrained bad habits.

The problem is, needing independence is not a reason to carry on driving if people are unsafe. Your MIL is fine now. My mum was fine until her mid 80s. But then started having more near misses and it became clear she needed to stop. Nobody has the right to carry on driving once their ability starts to decline, and currently there is no effective system to assess driving competence.

I sort of agree - a very very frail elderly lady I know has just had her driving licence renewed, I’m not sure of her age but she’s the wrong side of 90! It takes her a few beats to realise who she’s talking to, shoulders hunched, I’m 100% certain her reactions would be no where near on point, but she’s passed fit to go. The bar must be incredibly low to pass.

But having said that I know 80yr olds who would pass for 60 something. It’s very individual.

Give it 20 years and all cars will be driverless, we will just ping an app and a driverless Uber will turn up!

Interestingly there’s no upper age limit on having a Private Pilots Licence. But you have to pass an annual medical to keep it..

In a similar way, i do think that Renewing your driving licence over 80 should be signed off by a GP.

However we should avoid being ageist, after all , we live longer and 80 is probably the new 60..

BTW There’s a saying : there are Old Pilots and there are Bold pilots - but there are no Old and Bold Pilots. 😉
(Expl.; older pilots have more experience and know not to be Bold)
….And yes- I was in the Aviation industry.

Well considering an 82 yr old man ploughed into my parents on their motorbike and destroyed their whole lives I have to agree with you 100%

Maybe we all should have black boxes.

Having had a 40 year old woman drive through my fence, as she 'missed' the sign, a 28 year old, no insurance, no tax, no licence and registered legally blind (yep, you couldn't make it up), drive his van at a car and flip the car into an adjacent hedgerow, I favour regular checks on all drivers, regardless of age, as the vehicle is a deadly weapon in the wrong hands. Oh, and I took my Dad's keys away from him, as I'd had reason to believe he'd had a stroke, but despite me trying to get the NHS to scan my 75 year old Dad, who'd a clean driving record from age 17, they refused, until two year's later, so there's a tough role for all of us to also ensure those around us, at any age, are safe to drive! Eye tests are something only a fool misses, as they now pick up far more than just sight issues.

This is so ageist . Why should a perfectly able bodied person in their 80s be marooned at home unable to drive when they hit 80. They do get eye tests etc . When you look at statistics and the fact that male drivers used to have much more expensive insurance than women for a reason. Maybe they should ban young men from driving

If black boxes could track poor reaction time, I think that would be a good solution. But as far as I'm aware, they just track speeding and braking. So they are very useful for the issues among the worst younger drivers, not so much with the issues among elderly drivers.

My nan was driving the 'old folk' to church until her 90's... it was a 5 min drive. She was fully with it and drove at about 20 mph. Never had an accident and probably kept those 'old folk' alive due to human contact and shared spirituality. Also checking on each other at least once a week!

Why not ban people who wear glasses? Or people who drink? Or 17-24 year old men? Or angry people?
Oh, because not everyone is the same...

Lots of old people start to manage and self limit their driving. They stick to familiar, local routes, avoid rush hour and drive only in daylight. They might get away with this at a point when they could not cope with more demanding driving.

But at that point, they really shouldn't be on the road at all, because they are only doing that because they know they can't cope with the unexpected. And if something happens that they aren't expecting, they will not be able to deal with it. The fact she got away with it doesn't mean it wasn't a risk.

According to RAC statistics, male drivers are 3 times more likely than female drivers to cause death or serious injuries. Do you think all males should be banned from driving? If not, why not?

I think men under 30 should be banned 🤣

Agree completely.

There are such variations between 80 year olds though.Some may be finding driving difficult ,some may be Stirling Moss! I think current checks are fine.Where we live buses are not too bad.however in the little villages or market towns, they are something like twice a day! Older people in town can use their bus pass for a trip to the shops but a trip out on a Sunday afternoon is probably the highlight of the week.Its unfair to take it off them .Young inexperienced males have the worst safety records

So older people shouldn’t even be passengers in road vehicles ?