Over-70s face driving ban for failing eye tests

Diddums said:
So many questions, don't even know where to start.

I think this might be a good place tho:

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I've been on a coach for the last 4 days on the front seat to the left of the driver.
I never saw him once use his left hand on the wheel even in very tight turns.
What a talent.
 
ristac said:
Many years ago… How many, far less traffic, do you remember everything he did, as he first entered the slip road maybe it was a clear road, maybe the angle of the slip road and correct use of his mirrors meant there was no need for a glance over the shoulder, maybe you were too young to notice he had a blind spot mirror
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It was enough years ago that comet still existed :cry: . For anyone local to hull, it was the slip road under the Humber bridge, from the tip roundabout. It's quite a sweeping join, however trees prevent much visibility. He may have had a mirror for it, not sure.
 
ICDP said:
Because you bringing up the statistics is irrelevant to the underlying issue being addressed. You can’t seriously think the argument about more young people needing glasses has merit? Young people are a lot less likely to have serious eye defects that even glasses can’t fix.

Problem: Older people with bad eyesight that in a significant number of cases can’t be corrected with spectacles, have caused multiple unnecessary deaths on the roads.

Conclusion: The self reporting system is not fit for purpose because many of these inconsiderate ******** refuse to self report or just refuse to stop driving.

Solution: Mandatory eye tests for over 70s and the results are reported and binding. No more relying on dear old Norris and or Dorris deciding their cataracts aren’t a big deal and going out and running some poor kid over.

You: But but youngsters.

It’s pure whataboutism and is a separate issue the government are already reviewing. They are looking at a graduated driving license system.
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I'm not sure you understand how statistics work. It's cognitive/sampling bias to think that a handful of reported accidents or anecdotal stories about someone's granny are more frequent than they are. Cataracts become statistically significant from around 50 not 70.

There's only 14% of drivers over 70 and 4% over 80. Not all of them will have eyesight issues.

Whereas 60% of UK drivers need contracts or glasses to drive legally and around 10-20% don't wear them driving.

One study said

"....53% of men wear their prescription glasses 100% of the time whilst driving, compared to 44% of women, nearly 10% less.

People aged 55 and over are more consistent in wearing their glasses all of the time whilst driving (61%) compared to those aged 17-24 who wear them half as much (30.5%)...."

You: but old people.

More tests the better. But at least know the flaws in what you're testing.
 
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theone8181 said:
It was enough years ago that comet still existed :cry: . For anyone local to hull, it was the slip road under the Humber bridge, from the tip roundabout. It's quite a sweeping join, however trees prevent much visibility. He may have had a mirror for it, not sure.
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Remember the 80s when many cars only had a driver's mirror.

Accidents rates have fallen mostly because the roads and cars are safer. Older people drove death traps while it was still the wild west of driving. No seat belts, drum brakes, bad tyres, no air bags, smoking and drinking. 1967 70 mph limit.

While it's true older people are less able to handle fast moving dense traffic. They tend to avoid those kind of Journeys.

Maybe they should have a curfew and be banned from motorways.
 
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theone8181 said:
It was enough years ago that comet still existed :cry: . For anyone local to hull, it was the slip road under the Humber bridge, from the tip roundabout. It's quite a sweeping join, however trees prevent much visibility. He may have had a mirror for it, not sure.
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Though a good habit to check I've driven vehicles where even without a blind spot mirror you'd struggle to fit a motorbike into it through to ones where the blind spot would swallow up a good size truck.
 
OspreyO said:
Maybe they should have a curfew and be banned from motorways.
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Statistically the safest roads to drive. Personally I find driving on the motorway far easier and less stressful than A roads dualled or not and roads through built up areas. I can live without driving for most of the time, cycling or the occasional bus journey and I actually took a coach holiday this year for the first time but avoided the excursions preferring to find my own way around while down there. A bus pass is sometimes useful.
 
Rroff said:
Though a good habit to check I've driven vehicles where even without a blind spot mirror you'd struggle to fit a motorbike into it through to ones where the blind spot would swallow up a good size truck.
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Lots of modern cars with woeful visibility especially out the rear 3/4 and front corners.
 
OspreyO said:
I'm not sure you understand how statistics work. It's cognitive/sampling bias to think that a handful of reported accidents or anecdotal stories about someone's granny are more frequent than they are. Cataracts become statistically significant from around 50 not 70.

There's only 14% of drivers over 70 and 4% over 80. Not all of them will have eyesight issues.

Whereas 60% of UK drivers need contracts or glasses to drive legally and around 10-20% don't wear them driving.

One study said

"....53% of men wear their prescription glasses 100% of the time whilst driving, compared to 44% of women, nearly 10% less.

People aged 55 and over are more consistent in wearing their glasses all of the time whilst driving (61%) compared to those aged 17-24 who wear them half as much (30.5%)...."

You: but old people.

More tests the better. But at least know the flaws in what you're testing.
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For reference I work with statistics daily and have had formal training on creating and interpreting them. You keep conflating two separate issues that require totally separate statistical analysis and will require different solutions.
 
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ICDP said:
For reference I work with statistics daily and have had formal training on creating and interpreting them. You keep conflating two separate issues that require totally separate statistical analysis and will require different solutions.
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It's the same issues and statistically worse for younger people.

How many people scrape through their driving test and are never tested again. They are brutal drivers by the time they are 30.
 
OspreyO said:
It's the same issues and statistically worse for younger people.

How many people scrape through their driving test and are never tested again. They are brutal drivers by the time they are 30.
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No, it’s not the same issue at all and this is where you keep going wrong.
 
his argument that percentage of older drivers with poor eyesight, may not be so different to percentage of younger drivers that have poor eye sight
(maybe because only the older drivers with good eyesight/motor-skills are still driving) , doesn't seem to have been refuted, by any data presented.
 
LOL I love the fact that you are all coming up with "Yeah, bring this test in, and that test. Ban them all!"
By the time you all hit 70 all these rules are going to come back and bite you all in the rears :cry:

But I do agree, something needs to be done about older drivers. Just some simple competence, medical and eye tests.

Edit: Oh. And up the driving age to at least 21 for younger drivers ;)
 
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Digit said:
LOL I love the fact that you are all coming up with "Yeah, bring this test in, and that test. Ban them all!"
By the time you all hit 70 all these rules are going to come back and bite you all in the rears :cry:

But I do agree, something needs to be done about older drivers. Just some simple competence, medical and eye tests.

Edit: Oh. And up the driving age to at least 21 for younger drivers ;)
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How about double the points for younger drivers. Improving that group will have the biggest impact on safely. Probably not a vote winner though.

85% of us won't be driving at or past 70 years old +. Though the numbers driving at 70+ are increasing fast.

Of course there might be wide spread self driving cars by then.
 
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OspreyO said:
They aren't my statistics you need to take it up with people doing the studies.
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Nice try, you clearly don’t understand what the statistics you posted mean. Statistics for how many people refuse to wear glasses while driving is not the same as Opticians’s now being legally required to report people with serious eye defects to the DVLA.
 
Its a tiny number of older drivers VS a vast number of younger drivers. One estimate was a almost a million drivers.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Short-sighted driver who killed a dog-walker on a pedestrian crossing when he wasn’t wearing his glasses gets just 140 hours' COMMUNITY SERVICE

Mohammed Rashid, 23, drove into journalist Laurence Gunn, 32, pictured, as he crossed a road near Hampstead Heath, north London, with his dog.
www.dailymail.co.uk www.dailymail.co.uk

Like I said test away. But it will have negligible effect on road safety. I know the argument will be if it saves one then it's worth it. But that effort on younger drivers would save 10-20 times that many people.

But it's an vote grabber, a political stroke.

They do the same with cycling statistics in the media. It's click bait.
 
Digit said:
LOL I love the fact that you are all coming up with "Yeah, bring this test in, and that test. Ban them all!"
By the time you all hit 70 all these rules are going to come back and bite you all in the rears :cry:
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I've only got 3 years to go then I'm banned :)
That will mean I will have to finish work if I can't drive there.

(I cycle anyway)
 
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