How old is too old to drive?

[Creaky]

True, you do see more national media reports about ancient drivers doing silly things than you do about middle-aged ones and I've yet to see a headline in my morning paper about '48-year-old killed after driving past give way sign'. Doesn't prove much in itself though.

The only answer is that retesting frequencies should be based on the accident statistics for each age group.

Extracted from Department for Transport official statistics for 2012



Of course these figures don't tell the whole story - missing for instance are comparisons of mileage driven by each age group - they don't however support the idea that elderly drivers are involved in the most accidents.

Male
Rprtd Accidents Drivers Full Licence %

17-19 - - - - 7,105 - - - - - 316,058 - - - 2.248%
20-24 - - - - 14,109 - - - - - 172,893 - - - 1.203%
25-29 - - - - 13,341 - - - - 1,465,831 - - - 0.910%
30-34 - - - - 14,806 - - - - 1,671,038 - - - 0.886%
35-39 - - - - 12,256 - - - - 1,724,737 - - - 0.711%
40-49 - - - - 24,016 - - - - 4,373,892 - - - 0.549%
50-59 - - - - 17,882 - - - - 3,962,034 - - - 0.451%
60-69 - - - - 11,166 - - - - 3,478,534 - - - 0.321%
70+ -- - - - 8,388 - - - - 2,420,939 - - - 0.346%
Age N/K - - - - - 8,470

All ages - - - 131,539 - - -- 20,585,956 - - - 0.639%

 

[drew]

Passed my test October 1975 first time.
Thats 40 years of driving two vehicles with no accidents.
Still only have 9 years no claims bonus.
Insurance firms have screwed me for probably £400 a year for 40 years

You've paid £400 a year on average for 40 years! My first premium in 1981 was £68. I've had 5 accidents, including one 3 month old car written off and I've never paid £400 for motor insurance in any year.

 

[drew]

Extracted from Department for Transport official statistics for 2012

Male Drivers
Rprtd Accidents Drivers Full Licence %

17-19 7,105 316,058 2.248%
20-24 14,109 1,172,893 1.203%
25-29 13,341 1,465,831 0.910%
30-34 14,806 1,671,038 0.886%
35-39 12,256 1,724,737 0.711%
40-49 24,016 4,373,892 0.549%
50-59 17,882 3,962,034 0.451%
60-69 11,166 3,478,534 0.321%
70+ 8,388 2,420,939 0.346%
Age N/K 8,470

All ages 131,539 20,585,956 0.639%

Of course these figures don't tell the whole story - missing for instance are comparisons of mileage driven by each age group - they don't however support the idea that elderly drivers are involved in the most accidents.

Male
Rprtd Accidents Drivers Full Licence %

17-19 7,105 316,058 2.248%
20-24 14,109 1,172,893 1.203%
25-29 13,341 1,465,831 0.910%
30-34 14,806 1,671,038 0.886%
35-39 12,256 1,724,737 0.711%
40-49 24,016 4,373,892 0.549%
50-59 17,882 3,962,034 0.451%
60-69 11,166 3,478,534 0.321%
70+ 8,388 2,420,939 0.346%
Age N/K 8,470

All ages 131,539 20,585,956 0.639%

General thinking now is that the number of accidents is not as relevant as the nature of the accidents, ie do they fall in the Killed or Seriously Injured ( KSI) category. It's in this category that young novice drivers have a greater risk. With regard to elderly drivers, it is a biological fact that as you get older your faculties deteriorate however the problem is that they do so at different rates so there isn't one size that fits all in terms of a cut off age for driving. The logic is that once people get to 70 they should be tested as to how they drive and be medically signed off by their doctor. It doesn't have to be a full driving test but an assessment should be made.

 

[Creaky]

General thinking now is that the number of accidents is not as relevant as the nature of the accidents, ie do they fall in the Killed or Seriously Injured ( KSI) category. It's in this category that young novice drivers have a greater risk. With regard to elderly drivers, it is a biological fact that as you get older your faculties deteriorate however the problem is that they do so at different rates so there isn't one size that fits all in terms of a cut off age for driving. The logic is that once people get to 70 they should be tested as to how they drive and be medically signed off by their doctor. It doesn't have to be a full driving test but an assessment should be made.

I don't think anyone could argue that certain physical and mental faculties deteriorate with age - physical problems in general are fairly easy to assess and remedy, mental problems such as reaction time not so easily.

I have no problem with the idea that drivers should be medically assessed but why limit such an assessment to just those over 70 - a much simpler and cheaper solution would be to make it compulsory for doctors and opticians to notify the DVLA regarding any patient suffering from a complaint that makes it unsafe for them to drive. Current 'advice' for GPs is very wishy washy -

Notification to DVLA of particular medical condition

• it is the duty of the licence holder or licence applicant to notify DVLA of any medical condition, which may affect safe driving. On occasions however, there are circumstances in which the licence holder cannot, or will not do so.

The GMC has issued guidance applicable to such circumstances where a patient cannot, or will not, notify the DVLA of a particular medical condition where DVLA guidance has stated that notification should occur. These guidance states:

1. The DVLA is legally responsible for deciding if a person is medically unfit to drive. They need to know when driving licence holders have a condition, which may, now or in the future, affect their safety as a driver
2. Therefore, where patients have such conditions, you should:

Make sure that the patients understand that the condition may impair their ability to drive. If a patient is incapable of understanding this advice, for example because of dementia, you should inform the DVLA immediately
Explain to patients that they have a legal duty to inform the DVLA about the condition
​

3. If the patients refuse to accept the diagnosis or the effect of the condition on their ability to drive, you can suggest that the patients seek a second opinion, and make appropriate arrangements for the patients to do so. You should advise patients not to drive until the second opinion has been obtained
4. If patients continue to drive when they are not fit to do so, you should make every reasonable effort to persuade them to stop. This may include telling their next of kin
5. If you do not manage to persuade patients to stop driving, or you are given or find evidence that a patient is continuing to drive contrary to advice, you should disclose relevant medical information immediately, in confidence, to the medical adviser at DVLA
6. Before giving information to the DVLA you should inform the patient of your decision to do so. Once the DVLA has been informed, you should also write to the patient, to confirm that a disclosure has been made.​

​

 

[SIMMO SAYS]

You've paid £400 a year on average for 40 years! My first premium in 1981 was £68. I've had 5 accidents, including one 3 month old car written off and I've never paid £400 for motor insurance in any year.

Thats for a van and car btw.

I'm paying £275 for my car and £250 for my van now.

 

[BLOCK F]

Where did you hear that 70 year olds are retested? That isn't the case. Once you're 70 you can just renew your licence online.

I firmly believe that everyone should be retested. Photo id cards have to be renewed every 10 years so why not retest people then. Don't necessarily agree that you need to do your theory again but certainly a practical road test. In an ideal world we would have more traffic police and more people prosecuted for dumb driving, including middle lane hogging and
With regard to elderly driving, once you get to 70 I believe you should be tested every couple of years and be signed off by you GP to confirm that you 'faculties' haven't deteriorated to the detriment of your driving. Unfortunately, some peoples perception of a good driver isn't necessarily what others might consider. You should be capable of driving to the condition of the road up to the relevant speed limit for that road. That should apply to everybody. People who refuse to drive at 70 on motorways shouldn't be allowed to drive. If you don't have the confidence to drive at that speed then you are effectively a rolling road block. That's just one example.

People seem to equate good driving with merely being able to control a car rather than including the ability to drive without adversely affecting other drivers.

Good business for driving instructors,eh Drew.

 

[BLOCK F]

Would you recognise the time to give up cricket, or would you leave it for your team mates to tell you?

Perhaps his averages would tell everyone!

 

[GT49er]

People who refuse to drive at 70 on motorways shouldn't be allowed to drive. If you don't have the confidence to drive at that speed then you are effectively a rolling road block. That's just one example.

People seem to equate good driving with merely being able to control a car rather than including the ability to drive without adversely affecting other drivers.

Good job these aren't allowed on motorways to form a rolling road block, then........

"Some classes of vehicles are required to have speed limiters which enforce a maximum speed by physical means. Older vehicles still in use do not have limiters fitted or have them set at a higher speeds. New vehicles should be fitted with limiters as follows:
Buses and coaches, including Minibuses: 100 km/h (62 mph);
HGVs: 90 km/h (56 mph) or 85 km/h (53 mph) depending on class".

 

[symyjym]

A woman in her 80s was taken to hospital with head injuries after the mobility scooter she was driving collided with a lorry.

http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/1387...ed_when_mobility_scooter_collides_with_lorry/

 

[Dick Knights Mumm]

It is not any particular age - it is the point at which a person is still driving, may feel they need to drive still, and well, faculties start to fail. But the person does not recognise it, may not want to recognise it, may not realise it, friends and family may not appreciate what is happening, may be unsure whether to act, but that person is still in charge of a big lump of metal on the road (and hopefully not on the pavement). It is not ageist - it is life.

 

[drew]

Method in the madness!!!

 

[drew]

Good job these aren't allowed on motorways to form a rolling road block, then........

"Some classes of vehicles are required to have speed limiters which enforce a maximum speed by physical means. Older vehicles still in use do not have limiters fitted or have them set at a higher speeds. New vehicles should be fitted with limiters as follows:
Buses and coaches, including Minibuses: 100 km/h (62 mph);
HGVs: 90 km/h (56 mph) or 85 km/h (53 mph) depending on class".

Noted but the thread is about car drivers. That said, there seem to be plenty of those vehicles seemingly exempt from those!!!

 

[drew]

I don't think anyone could argue that certain physical and mental faculties deteriorate with age - physical problems in general are fairly easy to assess and remedy, mental problems such as reaction time not so easily.

I have no problem with the idea that drivers should be medically assessed but why limit such an assessment to just those over 70 - a much simpler and cheaper solution would be to make it compulsory for doctors and opticians to notify the DVLA regarding any patient suffering from a complaint that makes it unsafe for them to drive. Current 'advice' for GPs is very wishy washy -



[/INDENT]

I wouldn't argue with that. Seems the current system allows GPs to possibly abdicate their responsibility to joe public.

 

[dejavuatbtn]

Some good, some bad. The loss of being able to drive is probably about the worst thing that could happen to an elderly person who has driven most of their life as it effectively means they will be housebound. That is why they are reluctant to release their licence and end up making false declarations every three years to say they are fit to drive. Personally, I would get the triennial declaration signed by their GP. If the GP refuses to sign it, then they have to appeal and take some form of test.

 

[PWA]

Hand the keys over at 80.

 

[Chinman3000]

Another sad story just coming through on Sky news – 6 innocent people hurt including young children - the driver was 92 this time which is frankly ridiculous, and an accident waiting to happen.

http://news.sky.com/story/1575056/elderly-driver-ploughs-car-into-shoppers