It’s a vote-killer, which is why we don’t have mandatory annual retesting for people over 70 despite it being painfully obvious it’s required. Why is a 96-year-old woman behind the wheel of a car? Madness. Very few people of that generation have the self-awareness and ability for self-reflection to say, “I’m not the driver I once was. I’m now a danger to other road users. It’s time to stop”. The licences will have to be pulled from their hands.
I realise those over 70 have to declare themselves fit and healthy every 3 years but christ, anyone looking at that old lady would question why on earth she was behind a wheel.
It’s genuinely worrying how many people who are 80+ years old are out there on the roads without having done any kind of refresher driving course or competency test since they passed their test in the 1950s. My grandad was driving up to a few weeks before he died at 87 years old, and he most definitely shouldn’t have been. He was blind in one eye with 20% vision in the other for many years before he passed. He had cataracts, he was almost totally deaf, he had blood pressure problems and he had suffered two strokes.
I guarantee most of these people over 80 would not pass a modern driving test today, so why are they allowed to just keep driving without any kind of competency test. Your eyesight starts to deteriorate around 40, and so does the brain. Your depth perception, situational awareness, ability to problem solve, and to deal with high stress situations in a calm manner will all slowly deplete with age. It happens to all of us, it’s not pleasant but it is reality. It’s about time we started accepting what ageing does and protecting the lives of the general public accordingly.
I wonder who insured her, and what the premium was.
Stuff like this highlights how deluded we are about how dangerous cars really are.
Most people think “stopping speeding” is the be-all-and-end-all and simply can’t see that doing 34 in a 30 is nothing compared to being that old and incapable of safely driving a vehicle when it comes to the sheer danger it presents.
I don’t think she should go to prison frankly, a waste of resources and utterly pointless – she’s too old to be rehabilitated anyway and for what?
But we should 100% have mandatory re-testing for older drivers. The *vast* majority of old folk I know agree whenever it has come up. I can think of two family members who are 70+ who agree – one still drives and drives well. He’d be happy to take a re-test and is confident he’d pass, as am I. The other stopped driving voluntarily because she no longer felt confident after a chronic illness got a bit worse and thought it too dangerous for others. Mad to think she legally could drive still if she wanted to though.
My uncle is an older chap. When he was 63 years old one day he just arrived to our house by bus and we asked why, is his car at mechanics? And he said naw, he sold it, but didn’t want to say why, we knew the “it’s getting expensive to run” was a lie.
Not long after we found out he almost had an accident and he just realised he hasn’t got the reaction time and awareness he used to have, so he sold the car two days later.
Now he goes everywhere by bus.
We have minimum driving and voting ages, time to bring in a maximum.
My aunt and uncles had to take my grandma’s keys away from her because she drove like a maniac despite having peripheral neuropathy and a drop foot. She was deeply religious and believed that when it was her time to go, it was her time – which feels really kind of selfish if you end up causing someone else’s demise at the same time.
Boomers: they drive like they vote. *Badly, with no consideration for others.*
Retesting for driving is such a contentious issue and I have no idea why. It’s the only test you take that doesn’t expire after a reasonable amount of time.
I passed my test when I was 19 and didn’t get a car until 29. Had not sat behind the wheel once in that time. I got a refresher lesson and was fine; but that’s not required. It’s bonkers that people don’t have to revalidate; even if it’s a shorter less intensive test.
If it were up to me, retesting would be mandatory for everyone throughout their lives. Naturally OAPs should be tested more due to cognitive decline, but road safety should be paramount.
I drive as little as possible, there’s so many lunatics on the road of all ages. I think it’s often overlooked just how fucking dangerous cars are.
Having been one, I’m pretty sure 17 year old boys cause more accidents than pensioners. If pensioners were such a risk their insurance would be astronomical and market forces would force them to stop driving. As they don’t, unless you believe insurance companies sell to oaps as a loss leader, the only conclusion is that they are mostly safe drivers, and one 96 year old woman who isn’t doesn’t change that.
It’s remarkable that articles like this always generate a wild baying against elderly motorists despite there being *zero* evidence they’re actually more dangerous, even according to DFT. Except to themselves due to increased frailty. Just one example but there’s so much evidence on this!
If you want the ultimate example there’s a reason insurance premiums fall to a certain age then don’t change!
At my work we run a flu clinic every year for the over 65s you’d be surprised how many of them still drive and how many of them have driven into our surgery wall
I don’t think reckless driving is exclusive to pensioners, I see it every day where people “forget” to indicate and nearly run over pedestrians
15 comments
It’s a vote-killer, which is why we don’t have mandatory annual retesting for people over 70 despite it being painfully obvious it’s required. Why is a 96-year-old woman behind the wheel of a car? Madness. Very few people of that generation have the self-awareness and ability for self-reflection to say, “I’m not the driver I once was. I’m now a danger to other road users. It’s time to stop”. The licences will have to be pulled from their hands.
I realise those over 70 have to declare themselves fit and healthy every 3 years but christ, anyone looking at that old lady would question why on earth she was behind a wheel.
It’s genuinely worrying how many people who are 80+ years old are out there on the roads without having done any kind of refresher driving course or competency test since they passed their test in the 1950s. My grandad was driving up to a few weeks before he died at 87 years old, and he most definitely shouldn’t have been. He was blind in one eye with 20% vision in the other for many years before he passed. He had cataracts, he was almost totally deaf, he had blood pressure problems and he had suffered two strokes.
I guarantee most of these people over 80 would not pass a modern driving test today, so why are they allowed to just keep driving without any kind of competency test. Your eyesight starts to deteriorate around 40, and so does the brain. Your depth perception, situational awareness, ability to problem solve, and to deal with high stress situations in a calm manner will all slowly deplete with age. It happens to all of us, it’s not pleasant but it is reality. It’s about time we started accepting what ageing does and protecting the lives of the general public accordingly.
I wonder who insured her, and what the premium was.
Stuff like this highlights how deluded we are about how dangerous cars really are.
Most people think “stopping speeding” is the be-all-and-end-all and simply can’t see that doing 34 in a 30 is nothing compared to being that old and incapable of safely driving a vehicle when it comes to the sheer danger it presents.
I don’t think she should go to prison frankly, a waste of resources and utterly pointless – she’s too old to be rehabilitated anyway and for what?
But we should 100% have mandatory re-testing for older drivers. The *vast* majority of old folk I know agree whenever it has come up. I can think of two family members who are 70+ who agree – one still drives and drives well. He’d be happy to take a re-test and is confident he’d pass, as am I. The other stopped driving voluntarily because she no longer felt confident after a chronic illness got a bit worse and thought it too dangerous for others. Mad to think she legally could drive still if she wanted to though.
My uncle is an older chap. When he was 63 years old one day he just arrived to our house by bus and we asked why, is his car at mechanics? And he said naw, he sold it, but didn’t want to say why, we knew the “it’s getting expensive to run” was a lie.
Not long after we found out he almost had an accident and he just realised he hasn’t got the reaction time and awareness he used to have, so he sold the car two days later.
Now he goes everywhere by bus.
We have minimum driving and voting ages, time to bring in a maximum.
My aunt and uncles had to take my grandma’s keys away from her because she drove like a maniac despite having peripheral neuropathy and a drop foot. She was deeply religious and believed that when it was her time to go, it was her time – which feels really kind of selfish if you end up causing someone else’s demise at the same time.
Boomers: they drive like they vote. *Badly, with no consideration for others.*
Retesting for driving is such a contentious issue and I have no idea why. It’s the only test you take that doesn’t expire after a reasonable amount of time.
I passed my test when I was 19 and didn’t get a car until 29. Had not sat behind the wheel once in that time. I got a refresher lesson and was fine; but that’s not required. It’s bonkers that people don’t have to revalidate; even if it’s a shorter less intensive test.
If it were up to me, retesting would be mandatory for everyone throughout their lives. Naturally OAPs should be tested more due to cognitive decline, but road safety should be paramount.
I drive as little as possible, there’s so many lunatics on the road of all ages. I think it’s often overlooked just how fucking dangerous cars are.
Having been one, I’m pretty sure 17 year old boys cause more accidents than pensioners. If pensioners were such a risk their insurance would be astronomical and market forces would force them to stop driving. As they don’t, unless you believe insurance companies sell to oaps as a loss leader, the only conclusion is that they are mostly safe drivers, and one 96 year old woman who isn’t doesn’t change that.
It’s remarkable that articles like this always generate a wild baying against elderly motorists despite there being *zero* evidence they’re actually more dangerous, even according to DFT. Except to themselves due to increased frailty. Just one example but there’s so much evidence on this!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24204489.amp
If you want the ultimate example there’s a reason insurance premiums fall to a certain age then don’t change!
At my work we run a flu clinic every year for the over 65s you’d be surprised how many of them still drive and how many of them have driven into our surgery wall
I don’t think reckless driving is exclusive to pensioners, I see it every day where people “forget” to indicate and nearly run over pedestrians