Should a 97 year old man be driving on a public road?

I am surprised there have not been any conspiracy theories that the owners of Land Rover had put a Trojan in the CanBus system of his car yet. After all, he did once say:

"“It looks as if it was put in by an Indian.” (pointing at an old-fashioned fusebox in a factory near Edinburgh in 1999)

Perhaps all is now forgiven and the "Indians" saw the merit in the delivery of a gratis new vehicle less than 24 hours after he wrote his old one off? The fact a so well known elderly gent walked unharmed from one after it was overturned must have done wonders for their falling sales! Expect to see even more of the things abandon parked outside the swankier schools in the rush hour :)
 
So council are reducing speed limit on that road which, as the councillor interviewed stated, was already under review and the imminent implementation was well under way and it was simply cooincidence that the changes have been announced within 24 hours of the duke of edinburgh being involved in an RTC.

Yes councillor, whatever you say mate.
 
I wonder what senior royal physician will have the gonads to inform the DVLA that due to
the Duke's advanced age it is recommended that his driving licence be revoked with immediate effect.
 
The local council have clearly not realised that reaching the dizzying heights of 60mph on that road are near impossible anyway, dropping the limit to 50 means I'll actually end up doing 40mph.

Source: drove the road tonight, stuck behind someone doing 50mph. Cue the dangerous overtakes left right and center
 
Efour said:
Driving test every 5 years after age 65.
Will have to be free to encourage it, or at the least a nominal fee.

Also a driving test for 25 years assuming they got their liscence at 17/18, to check up on their skills. Then 35 45 55 65. Refresh update people on highway codes etc.
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While I don’t think a full test is the way to go, a mandatory lesson every 10 years and then 5 years after 65 is something I think would be a good idea.

An hour out with an instructor to get rid of bad habits and to do a quick assessment of whether you need a proper retest/lessons would be simple enough.

neocon said:
Interesting that the SUV rolled. I know these cars tend to do that in a crash. Maybe not as safe as some people presume them to be.
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IIRC SUVs have a 1/10 chance of rolling and cars have a 1/20 chance of rolling in an accident so in both types of vehicle it’s pretty rare. Rolling itself isn’t the biggest issue either if you’re strapped in.

I can’t see his vehicle being the standard Land Rover either. I bet it weighs a lot more than the average - presumably it armoured?

It seems he was dazzled by the sun, so that may be a factor in the accident rather than just age. Considering he only retired a couple of years ago I doubt he’s the average 97 year old.
 
I don't know if someone who's 97 should be able to drive since I haven't been 97 years old yet, if he's still sound of mind and has good enough sight and hearing I don't see why not. One accident isn't proof of there being something wrong with his driving ability.
 
It's amusing really that PP would want to drive at his age. Chauffeur? I can't imagine seeing him driving a car.
For normal people (ie, non Royalty :) ), people age differently, if they're fit and well, why not? It's good to be able to get around independently.
My dad gave up driving at 80. Still fine mentally(concentration etc) but arthritis of the knees. Was easy for him really as they (parents) never went far anyway. I'd want to cling onto my wheels for as long as possible :D.
 
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wonder what his insurance costs are at that age, 97 cant be many that old still alive let alone driving.
 
stockhausen said:
Meanwhile, the driver of the Kia - who was not responsible for the accident can look forward to a long drawn-out battle with the crooks of the Insurance industry.
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Eh? (S)He'll likely just call an accident management company and get something better than a Kia in the meantime (not much is worse in any category of car they are in to be fair).
 
... so his insurance company told him not to accept responsibility and prioritize visiting the peasants - collateral damage
 
BuffetSlayer said:
So council are reducing speed limit on that road which, as the councillor interviewed stated, was already under review and the imminent implementation was well under way and it was simply cooincidence that the changes have been announced within 24 hours of the duke of edinburgh being involved in an RTC.

Yes councillor, whatever you say mate.
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I don't know what lowering the limit will do in terms of collisions on that road. I don't know it personally but from bits and pieces I've read most of the previous collisions weren't caused by speed. They're caused by careless driving, for example a doddering old fool failing to give way & pulling out of a junction into oncoming traffic....

Also from witnesses of him driving again, in his new Freelander, he's driving with the same number plate as the one that crashed.

Last time I swapped a plate from one car to another it took 2 weeks for the documents....
 
maybe there is a garage full of reserves for the ones he's crashes regularly on their premises. ....
but it's all good business for JLR
 
BuffetSlayer said:
So council are reducing speed limit on that road which, as the councillor interviewed stated, was already under review and the imminent implementation was well under way and it was simply cooincidence that the changes have been announced within 24 hours of the duke of edinburgh being involved in an RTC.

Yes councillor, whatever you say mate.
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It's plausible - there have been dozens of accidents there and calls for a reduction in the speed limit for a while. The meeting that ordered the reduction was arranged after the crash before the one with the Duke of Edinburgh. Given how many crashes there have been, it's entirely possible that the timing was a coincidence.

The cause of the latest crash there hasn't been established yet, but there has obviously been something wrong with the road system there for quite a while.
 
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