Should drivers over 70..........

[cee-dee]

Should drivers over 70 be required to take a test every 3 years?

I saw part of a discussion on TV on this subject so what do you think?

Really, it's drivers aged 17 to 24 who're most likely to have a crash and from what I've read it seems drivers over 80 are more likely to cause themselves an injury than other people.

Drivers have to renew their driving licence at 70 and then have to renew it every 3 years but a test as well?

[**bustysinclaire**]

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@jd.linklater wrote:

It sounds like quite a few of us have had similar near misses waiting at junctions to turn right onto a main road and it sounds like most were due to poor signalling by another driver. I've been in the same position myself but these days I always wait until the road is clear.

I was once given some sound advice by a driving instructor which has served me well.

Assume that every other driver on the road is an idiot.

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I  have only been driving for around 20 years, didn't pass my test till I was 35, but in those I have had a good number of very scary near misses. I do have to say none my fault either.

The scariest was being in the fast lane on a motorway, obviously in a juggernauts blind spot when the silly driver starts over taking a vehicle in the middle lane with me alongside him in the third lane and my space is getting smaller and smaller. eeeekkkkkkkk.

I seriously do think that haulage drivers, if they don't, should be retested every few years.  I know that driving instructors have to have refresher tests.

[al**bear]

They should do a 'healthy enough to drive' medical  test every year - NOT to be done by their own doctor/practice either

And an aptitude & written test every 3 years

[cee-dee]

Al, I think that if an aptitude, attitude and written test was performed on young drivers 17 - 25, many would fail!

[al**bear]

Thing is I don't see that young  drivers, have anything to do with this discussion

------- For New drivers

WE should impose 2 years of restricted driving after you pass your test, it already happens for a Year in Northern Ireland, you get R plates, you must display on your car, just like you did with L plates

some rules could be --

stricter speed limits, restriction on passengers you can carry, only use motorway when you have a driver over 25 beside you

[margaret*e]

I'm guessing the discussion you watched was about the man who had a petition to get older drivers tested because his wife was killed.

Why I thought younger drivers were relevant was because I wondered, if his wife had been killed by a young driver, as many have been, would he be trying to get all young drivers off the road.

[cee-dee]

Al, see my OP.

The programme I saw was saying that the age group causing more crashes (and deaths) was 17 - 25 compared to the over 70 age group.

The discussion might have been provoked by high profile crashes caused by old drivers but I didn't see the beginning of the discussion where the reason for it might have been mentioned.

After reading round several sites (including .gov) it is the young age group that has the most crashes but the old drivers attract more attention.........

[cee-dee]

A very good point Margie.

[evoman3957]

Having just run my OH in to work, I've decided that 50% of people get exactly what they deserve; it's the other 50% that they drag into it with them, that don't ask for it.  Isn't it always the case, whatever it is that screws up your life; you need to look no further than your fellow Human Beings.

[jd.linklater]

I read a BBC article a couple of years ago which showed that statistically there is very little difference between the number of accidents involving 17-19 year olds (11,946) and over 70s (10,974). The death rates were higher for over 70s (59 deaths for 70-79 year olds and 52 for the over 80s) but by far the highest accident and death rates were among the 20-24 year olds (24,007 accidents leading to 173 deaths).

The problem with statistics of course is that they never reveal the whole picture. The death rates among the older age group could be so much higher simply because older people are less resistant to heavy trauma, an accident that could result in a few bumps and bruises for a youngster could often kill an elderly person. Also there are no figures to show who was to blame for any of the above accidents. Although it is widely accepted that the majority of fatal accidents are caused by excess speed, driving too slowly can be just as dangerous especially in motorway situations and this is where older drivers are more at risk.

As regards the original question, I think the current rules are adequate but I think the assessment of an elderly driver's capabilities should be done on a yearly basis and by an outside agency. Having them done by a local GP could bring issues of familiarity into play. Assessment tests should be completely unbiased and independent in my view.

The above figures are for accidents in 2011.

[cee-dee]

Was it this you read?:-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24204489

[jd.linklater]

Yes that's it

[Anonymous]

My mum had to have a medical recently and her eyes tested to see if she was still fit to drive. She is 84. I'm not sure what age you have to be in Holland to get tested, but it has been in place quite a while as far as I know.

She failed the test on her eyesight, but they are doing that test again soon to make sure for whatever reason.

She wasn't happy because although she doesn't drive much anymore she feels it as a loss to her independence. I understand that. But to be honest I don't think she should be driving anymore. After she was involved in a bad crash many years ago she first was afraid to drive again and when she finally started again she became a very nervous driver and passenger, while when she was young she loved to drive.

She thinks that because she doesn't go far she will be fine still driving, but the crash she had happened at the end of her road......

I feel sorry for her, but I think it's best if she never drives again. Her neighbour's son drives her everywhere she needs to go, helps her with her shopping etc.. and for that he has the use of her car for going to work and anything else he needs to do. He used to be a taxi driver. So a very good deal for both I would say.

But for her I think it's more the idea that she is not in control of her own life anymore that is the real issue.

[evoman3957]

You've only got to remember the excitement when you first past your test, the independence, the freedom, the distance no object feeling.......to understand what it must feel like ( having had it for 50 odd years ) to lose it all and know you'll never get it back. Life is all about the Journey, the destination is pre-determined for all of us; but how we get there is up to us and therein lies everything...........it's ALL about the journey.

[jd.linklater]

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@Anonymous wrote:

My mum had to have a medical recently and her eyes tested to see if she was still fit to drive. She is 84. I'm not sure what age you have to be in Holland to get tested, but it has been in place quite a while as far as I know.

She failed the test on her eyesight, but they are doing that test again soon to make sure for whatever reason.

She wasn't happy because although she doesn't drive much anymore she feels it as a loss to her independence. I understand that. But to be honest I don't think she should be driving anymore. After she was involved in a bad crash many years ago she first was afraid to drive again and when she finally started again she became a very nervous driver and passenger, while when she was young she loved to drive.

She thinks that because she doesn't go far she will be fine still driving, but the crash she had happened at the end of her road......

I feel sorry for her, but I think it's best if she never drives again. Her neighbour's son drives her everywhere she needs to go, helps her with her shopping etc.. and for that he has the use of her car for going to work and anything else he needs to do. He used to be a taxi driver. So a very good deal for both I would say.

But for her I think it's more the idea that she is not in control of her own life anymore that is the real issue.

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I have a similar tale to recall re. an elderly neighbour. She first had a driving licence at age 18 in 1931 (driving tests weren't introduced until '34). She drove an ambulance for the WRVS during the war and continued to drive for a living afterwards. She spent many years of her married life driving all over Europe on holidays as her husband never learned to drive. Spent her whole life with a clean licence having never had an accident.

When she reached her late sixties she decided to switch to driving an automatic as she had severe arthritis in her hands. As time went on her arthritis started to affect her spine but she kept on driving. She had to recline her driving seat so far back to alleviate her back pain that often she would drive by and you could hardly see her in the car she was sitting so low, it must have been almost impossible to see where she was going. Her family unwisely encouraged her to keep driving stressing the importance of her being independent but they all lived some distance away and secretly I think they were dreading the time when she had to stop getting around on her own as they would have to pitch in and help.

In later years she had a few minor bumps mainly in supermarket carparks, then she finally had to stop aged 93 after she drove onto someone's drive at quite a pelt and ran into the back of a Range Rover. My wife was with her at the time and they were both concussed and the car was a write off. She had been driving automatics for nearly thirty years and had never received any instruction, so she had always used the right foot for the throttle and the left for the brake. It's a minor wonder that she lived so long. Two years later she had to go into a retirement home suffering from dementia and unable to look after herself.

[Anonymous]

Well there you go. I don't want my mum to have another crash and I also don't want her to get someone else killed because she can't drive very good anymore.

If you go a bit faster than 20 km per hour she tells you not to drive too fast (even on roads where you are allowed faster). I keep telling her that if I'm going slower the drivers behind me will get irritated and want to overtake me and that that could cause accidents.

If you sweep into a parking space she goes "ohoh" as if I'm going to drive into another car. Her car is only small, I drive an estate so parking her car is hardly a problem.

She will tell me that there is a car coming and I should slow down, and starts bracing herself, as if I haven't already seen it coming down the road long before she has.

She is a bag of nerves now, even gets palpitations when we just drive around in her little village, while in the past she always felt safe when I drove her, even to Italy with a big tent trailer behind the car. She would not be able to cope with that anymore.

I do feel sorry for her, but at the end of the day she has to be realistic. She can still walk to the shopping centre which is nearby and she now has her private chauffeur living next door. And he does it with love for her. What more can she ask for.

[margaret*e]

Your mum sounds like me, as a passenger.

[Anonymous]

The thing is.....I might be just the same when I get to her age and I hope I will be sensible enough to know when to stop driving.

My mum is night blind and stopped driving in the evenings quite some years ago. Now however she also has problems with bright light. She can't drive on a bright sunny day. So what is left in the end. She has to see if the light outside is ok for her eyes before she can hop in her car. Not very handy if you have to get to an appointment.

She had a frozen shoulder a few years back so couldn't drive for ages, then she broke her ankle, again didn't drive for ages, her eyesight got worse over the last few years and it's something that can't be sorted with glasses or an operation, so with all that you would think she would have given it up already. Her car is 17 years old (bought from new) and has about 10.000 miles on the clock. So it's not that she was ever driving a lot anyway.

It sounds horrible but I hope she fails the test.

[cee-dee]

Your mum's a danger to herself and other road users. There comes a time when you just can't hack it any more and as far as driving's concerned, sadly that time has come for your mum.

[jd.linklater]

I don't think I will hesitate to give up driving if and when I no longer feel able to contend with the pressure of modern driving conditions. I loved driving when I was younger but I don't exactly find it a pleasurable experience these days. I still drive people to airports on occasion but I try to avoid night driving because like a lot of others have said I do find modern headlights dazzling. I'm in a semi- rural area but only about 3 miles from town, ordinarily that wouldn't be a problem but there are only two buses to town and two back again each day so I'd have to organise my life around that or use taxis. The only other option would be to move into town which wouldn't be impossible but I love the countryside too much to think about that right now.

[evoman3957]

Of course, backing up a bit from the stage where you'd need to give up driving all together; you would need to give up driving some cars before others. When I go out in my "run about" Clio diesel, it's just that and I don't do much over 50 mph.......70 mph on motorways etc. etc but I bought that, because I couldn't live with my "Beast" on a daily basis. The day will come when the "Beast" will have to go long before the "run about" and that's not because of the expense of running it, it's because of its sheer power and the reaction time required to handle it. That's going to be hard enough, as I've always been a "Petrol Head" at heart and the big boy gets my adrenaline pumping; but to give up all together eventually..........I can only imagine how hard it is for some.