So an agre restriction is clearly nonsense, how to pick up someone who is a liability driving before they hurt themselves or others?
Doctor referrals for regular capability tests after diagnosis of certain levels of infirmity would seem to be the most sensible option.
My gran stopped driving after fairly small accident where someone else was in the car, she had been a bit dangerous for years but got away with it but this time it was clear she saw the car coming and just drove out into the side of it anyway.
Mum persuaded her it wasn’t worth the risk to hers and others lives and she sold her car a few weeks later and never drove again.
A report from 2015 states that 15.36% of reported accidents were involving drivers aged under 24 compared to only 5.95% involving drivers aged over 70. So, are we going to stop anyone under 24 from driving?
Those percentages don't take into account the number of drivers in each age bracket though do they? So if there were a million drivers under 24 and 1000 over 70 but the % figures are 'all accidents' it makes for very different reading. (and I'm not suggesting the difference in figures is that big, just using them to make the point)
Agree on the whole though. 've always said there should be retesting at 70, never thought about anything like a 10 year retest for all (such as @killerandflash suggestion) but that's even better.
In 2016, young drivers (16-24 year olds) only accounted for about 7 per cent of all full driving licence holders in Great Britain. Yet in the same year, they were involved in crashes where 25 per cent of all those people killed and seriously injured were hurt.
In 2016, there were 448 fatalities in collisions involving at least one young driver, roughly a quarter of all reported road fatalities. Young drivers themselves accounted for 40 per cent (180) of these fatalities and the passengers in their cars a further 20 per cent (88).
I'm not sure of a retest, after all there aren't many of us that would pass another test. But certainly some sort of competence test should be applicable, reaction times are not only slowed down by alcohol but age too.
Maybe not a retest but some sort of assessment needs to be done for older drivers. So much has changed since someone say in their 70's passed their test when they were 20.
My Dad was getting a little bit doddery when driving (he was only 70) and he said if it got to the point he felt he was a danger, he'd give up.
My Nan voluntarily surrendered her driving license at the age of about 80 after she got in the car and somehow managed to drive to her local shops with one of these on the steering wheel.
You wouldn't believe what goes on down here, when out walking we often see an elderly woman driving with two westies, one on her lap looking out window the other on her shoulder. Total disregard for other road users, pedestrians and of course the dogs safety.
A report from 2015 states that 15.36% of reported accidents were involving drivers aged under 24 compared to only 5.95% involving drivers aged over 70. So, are we going to stop anyone under 24 from driving?
Those percentages don't take into account the number of drivers in each age bracket though do they? So if there were a million drivers under 24 and 1000 over 70 but the % figures are 'all accidents' it makes for very different reading. (and I'm not suggesting the difference in figures is that big, just using them to make the point)
Agree on the whole though. 've always said there should be retesting at 70, never thought about anything like a 10 year retest for all (such as @killerandflash suggestion) but that's even better.
In 2016, young drivers (16-24 year olds) only accounted for about 7 per cent of all full driving licence holders in Great Britain. Yet in the same year, they were involved in crashes where 25 per cent of all those people killed and seriously injured were hurt.
In 2016, there were 448 fatalities in collisions involving at least one young driver, roughly a quarter of all reported road fatalities. Young drivers themselves accounted for 40 per cent (180) of these fatalities and the passengers in their cars a further 20 per cent (88).
It's a false equivalence though. Young drivers people lack experience and judgement you can only get from years of driving. They already face far more stringent testing requirements to get hold of a licence, higher insurance premiums and are treated differently under the law if they commit an offence.
Older drivers are dangerous because they are physically/mentally impaired.
What scares the life out of me is when I see a car 2 feet off my bumper and notice that the driver is of an age where their reflexes are certainly not up to scratch and would have no chance of stopping if I were to brake hard for whatever reason. I think there should be regular checks as to whether people are fit to drive, whatever age they may be.
A better discussion is why do people need cars? Generally a lack of public transportation as well as high streets dying with out of town superstores replacing local shops, grocers, butchers etc. A car is a lifeline for a lot of older people, without which they'd never see their families, grandchildren, friends, or go to the shops, church, the bingo hall etc.
It scares me when I see a car two feet from my bumper. Has to be simple if he believes he has the reflexes to stop without hitting me if I had to break quickly.
You wouldn't believe what goes on down here, when out walking we often see an elderly woman driving with two westies, one on her lap looking out window the other on her shoulder. Total disregard for other road users, pedestrians and of course the dogs safety.
What scares the life out of me is when I see a car 2 feet off my bumper and notice that the driver is of an age where their reflexes are certainly not up to scratch and would have no chance of stopping if I were to brake hard for whatever reason. I think there should be regular checks as to whether people are fit to drive, whatever age they may be.
It scares me when I see a car two feet from my bumper. Has to be simple if he believes he has the reflexes to stop without hitting me if I had to break quickly.
Does anyone have a view about people driving two feet behind their bumper?
White van men, foreign lorry drivers, young people, old people etc etc.
There are good and bad in every category yet it is only with regard to the old that we hear the 'get them off the road' argument.
@Addick Addict has shown statistics showing that younger drivers are far more dangerous yet nobody suggests getting them off the road why?
We are all told to be 'green' because of the man made climate change money raising scam so why is anyone under 30 allowed to drive when they are able bodied enough to walk or cycle?
No more stupid a suggestion than effectively putting anyone over 70 under house arrest which I think many would be quite happy to see judging by comments above.
White van men, foreign lorry drivers, young people, old people etc etc.
There are good and bad in every category yet it is only with regard to the old that we hear the 'get them off the road' argument.
@Addick Addict has shown statistics showing that younger drivers are far more dangerous yet nobody suggests getting them off the road why?
We are all told to be 'green' because of the man made climate change money raising scam so why is anyone under 30 allowed to drive when they are able bodied enough to walk or cycle?
No more stupid a suggestion than effectively putting anyone over 70 under house arrest which I think many would be quite happy to see judging by comments above.
Because no one has had to take their white van driving husband, or 22 year old daughter, or 4x4 driving wife to one side and question their physical and mental ability to drive.
Plenty of people have had to sit down with an elderly parent, sibling, relative or friend and tearfully explain how you are terrified for their welfare because they have watch their relative/friend regress quite rapidly, reaction times slowing, cognitive ability impaired, eyesight going, and increasing lapses in judgement whilst driving, as well as the effects of dementia, Parkinson's or other age-related illnesses.
And plenty of people have had to bury a relative or friend because an elderly person was behind the wheel because they did not have someone in their life who cared about them enough to have such a conversation with them.
Or " young drivers: when are they mature enough to drive? how do you stop them when they aren't" . probably a slightly more important issue given the relative accident rates.
White van men, foreign lorry drivers, young people, old people etc etc.
There are good and bad in every category yet it is only with regard to the old that we hear the 'get them off the road' argument.
@Addick Addict has shown statistics showing that younger drivers are far more dangerous yet nobody suggests getting them off the road why?
We are all told to be 'green' because of the man made climate change money raising scam so why is anyone under 30 allowed to drive when they are able bodied enough to walk or cycle?
No more stupid a suggestion than effectively putting anyone over 70 under house arrest which I think many would be quite happy to see judging by comments above.
Because no one has had to take their white van driving husband, or 22 year old daughter, or 4x4 driving wife to one side and question their physical and mental ability to drive.
Plenty of people have had to sit down with an elderly parent, sibling, relative or friend and tearfully explain how you are terrified for their welfare because they have watch their relative/friend regress quite rapidly, reaction times slowing, cognitive ability impaired, eyesight going, and increasing lapses in judgement whilst driving, as well as the effects of dementia, Parkinson's or other age-related illnesses.
And plenty of people have had to bury a relative or friend because an elderly person was behind the wheel because they did not have someone in their life who cared about them enough to have such a conversation with them.
Even more ....'have had to bury a relative or friend'..... because a young person was behind the wheel.
My dad's 89 now. Last time he drove me back to his house he scraped the side of the car on a brick post turning into his garage parking space. He didn't seem that bothered, and looking at the brickwork, it had plenty of red marks on it so it wasn't the first time he done it. I thought then that he really shouldn't be driving if he could get away with it. He hasn't bought a new car for donkeys years, and the reason is obviously that his current car is built like a tank and can take the knocks, which he knows he will give it. He doesn't drive much these days, and often now takes a bus (something I don't think he did for about 50 years!). I could never tell him not to drive, but he is slowly coming to that conclusion himself I think.
Are you going to bring up the subject with him, Pedro? It's a really difficult conversation to have. But probably easier than other conversations that might need to be had, if he's involved in a collision with something less sturdy than the brick post.
I doubt it. He spends half the year cruising round the world so not much point. He will come to the conclusion one day that he shouldn't be driving, and I do think that even now he only drives when he really has to. It can't be much fun being told you are told old to do something you'e done all your life...
Car accidents: Younger v older drivers By BBC Reality Check
In November 2018, there were 5.3 million over-70s with full driving licences in Britain, according to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.
There were 11,245 people involved in road traffic accidents where the driver was in that age group - a rate of two per 1,000 licence holders.
For Britain's 2.8 million drivers aged 17 to 24, the rate was more than four times as high, at nine per 1,000.
You have to look at the number of miles driven for this to be meaningful.
I should have added this paragraph
The DVLA did not provide figures on whether this simply reflected that the older age group were on the road less than the younger age group. However, a separate study from the National Travel Survey suggests that over-70 drive an average of 1,000 miles a year more than under-20s.
White van men, foreign lorry drivers, young people, old people etc etc.
There are good and bad in every category yet it is only with regard to the old that we hear the 'get them off the road' argument.
@Addick Addict has shown statistics showing that younger drivers are far more dangerous yet nobody suggests getting them off the road why?
We are all told to be 'green' because of the man made climate change money raising scam so why is anyone under 30 allowed to drive when they are able bodied enough to walk or cycle?
No more stupid a suggestion than effectively putting anyone over 70 under house arrest which I think many would be quite happy to see judging by comments above.
Because no one has had to take their white van driving husband, or 22 year old daughter, or 4x4 driving wife to one side and question their physical and mental ability to drive.
Plenty of people have had to sit down with an elderly parent, sibling, relative or friend and tearfully explain how you are terrified for their welfare because they have watch their relative/friend regress quite rapidly, reaction times slowing, cognitive ability impaired, eyesight going, and increasing lapses in judgement whilst driving, as well as the effects of dementia, Parkinson's or other age-related illnesses.
And plenty of people have had to bury a relative or friend because an elderly person was behind the wheel because they did not have someone in their life who cared about them enough to have such a conversation with them.
Even more ....'have had to bury a relative or friend'..... because a young person was behind the wheel.
The difference being the young person's problem was suffering from a lack of experience/judgement, not because they were not physically/mentally fit to be behind the wheel. And the only way they get more experience...is by being behind a wheel. They get better the more they drive. Older people generally do not. Keeping them behind a wheel does not stave off blindness, dementia, Parkinson's, poor reactions and other age-related health problems.
Every single driver on this forum, including ones like yourself who are wrongly equating young driver accidents to old driver accidents, were a new driver once, and therefore more likely than other drivers to be involved in an accident. It is axiomatic that new drivers are less experienced and therefore more likely to be involved in an accident.
Comments
Doctor referrals for regular capability tests after diagnosis of certain levels of infirmity would seem to be the most sensible option.
My gran stopped driving after fairly small accident where someone else was in the car, she had been a bit dangerous for years but got away with it but this time it was clear she saw the car coming and just drove out into the side of it anyway.
Mum persuaded her it wasn’t worth the risk to hers and others lives and she sold her car a few weeks later and never drove again.
In 2016, there were 448 fatalities in collisions involving at least one young driver, roughly a quarter of all reported road fatalities. Young drivers themselves accounted for 40 per cent (180) of these fatalities and the passengers in their cars a further 20 per cent (88).
So should anyone wearing a hat whilst driving.
All hopefully academic as we will have driverless 🚗 in under 10 years.
My Dad was getting a little bit doddery when driving (he was only 70) and he said if it got to the point he felt he was a danger, he'd give up.
Peoples lives are at risk.
Older drivers are dangerous because they are physically/mentally impaired.
There are good and bad in every category yet it is only with regard to the old that we hear the 'get them off the road' argument.
@Addick Addict has shown statistics showing that younger drivers are far more dangerous yet nobody suggests getting them off the road why?
We are all told to be 'green' because of the man made climate change money raising scam so why is anyone under 30 allowed to drive when they are able bodied enough to walk or cycle?
No more stupid a suggestion than effectively putting anyone over 70 under house arrest which I think many would be quite happy to see judging by comments above.
Plenty of people have had to sit down with an elderly parent, sibling, relative or friend and tearfully explain how you are terrified for their welfare because they have watch their relative/friend regress quite rapidly, reaction times slowing, cognitive ability impaired, eyesight going, and increasing lapses in judgement whilst driving, as well as the effects of dementia, Parkinson's or other age-related illnesses.
And plenty of people have had to bury a relative or friend because an elderly person was behind the wheel because they did not have someone in their life who cared about them enough to have such a conversation with them.
By BBC Reality Check
In November 2018, there were 5.3 million over-70s with full driving licences in Britain, according to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.
There were 11,245 people involved in road traffic accidents where the driver was in that age group - a rate of two per 1,000 licence holders.
For Britain's 2.8 million drivers aged 17 to 24, the rate was more than four times as high, at nine per 1,000.
The DVLA did not provide figures on whether this simply reflected that the older age group were on the road less than the younger age group. However, a separate study from the National Travel Survey suggests that over-70 drive an average of 1,000 miles a year more than under-20s.
Every single driver on this forum, including ones like yourself who are wrongly equating young driver accidents to old driver accidents, were a new driver once, and therefore more likely than other drivers to be involved in an accident. It is axiomatic that new drivers are less experienced and therefore more likely to be involved in an accident.
Checks need to be more stringent.