Over 70's - assessment instead of license removal for road offences?

[Thekwango]

Apologies if it's already been posted but.....

'Experts' from the Older Drivers Task Force (what a name!) suggest oldies should be given assessment rather than penalised for breaking some road laws.


https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/news/dr...e=true&contactURN=42954786&hasBreakdown=false

i imagine even the thought of that will leave some of the 'they're too old to drive' brigade frothing with impotent rage.

 

[Semple]

Older drivers should be spared prosecution if they run red lights, drive too slowly or go in the wrong motorway lane, a government-funded road safety report has recommended.

I could accept the second two reasons for avoiding prosecution as they're unlikely to result in death. But it'll be the day that an OAP jumps a red light and kills a young child.

Frankly a ridiculous campaign.

 

[Thekwango]

i don't think it's completely ridiculous, it has its merits. but yea some of the suggestions are certainly eyebrow raising to say the least.

 

[Rroff]

Not quite sure what the thinking is but I guess if someone runs a red light, is assessed and found to have declined in ability and taken off the road then that is one thing - but they definitely shouldn't get anything even remotely like a free pass for going through a red light.

I live in an area where people tend to retire to and it is getting quite scary lately with the darker evenings with (presumably) old people who can't drive above half the speed limit, need their high beams on constantly and occasionally going down the wrong side of a road (I've twice had old drivers come at me head on on one stretch of dual-carriageway - one of whom had to give up their license the other not sure what happened).

(Apparently there was one yesterday which caused a head on crash but I can't see anything on the news about it - but saw the cars still left in the outside lane for some reason when I drove that way late at night).

 

[Quartz]

I think that assessing older drivers is a great idea but it should be in addition to rather than instead of fines and other penalties.

 

[adolf hamster]

can't say i'm enthused at the idea of giving folks a free pass on failing to drive properly just because they're old.

tbh, you can be competent or incompetent at driving at any age, and that should be the focus, if you can't drive safely then there needs to be action taken whether you're 17 or 70.

 

[Housey]

Stupid idea. Laws are laws on stuff like this. I don’t see any reason to provide a free pass due to age. Incompetence should not be a reason for leniency.

 

[Resident]

The idea of assessments for drivers 70+ isn't ridiculous however it shouldn't be left until they get caught contravening a road traffic law. That is far too late and WILL cost someone, most likely innocent, their life.

The assessment should replace the form that gets sent out for the licence holder to tick and say they're fine to keep driving. That has ALWAYS been an absolute moronic way of doing it IMO.

But then I also believe that as a driver you should have to submit eye-test results every 5 years from the day you get your provisional to keep your licence too. One of my childhood mates is now wheelchair bound because some Doris carried on driving despite having an uncorrected sight distance of just 2.86m. She pulled out on him on a NSL road and stated she never saw his neon orange car....

 

[Gaygle]

I think it's a stupid idea. If anything, we need to be more robust in taking old people who can't drive properly off the road, not trying to enable them to continue driving by letting them off going through red lights because they can't see them. The report seems to think that old people driving badly is something they choose to do and they can remedy it, but you can't remedy weakness in legs and arms, the decline in eyesight and the general slowing of cognitive ability to make quick time decisions. I see it in my own parents - my dad doesn't have any weakness or eyesight issues and he's 75, but for the last 5 years or so I have been able to clearly see the general slowing of his decision making when driving and just random things that only old people seem to do, like just randomly slowing down whilst driving for no reason, and braking for everything.

Unfortunately, I can hand on heart say, a good 60% of the serious or fatal RTC's I go to involve an old person (70+) running someone over/crashing into buildings because they've got the brake and accelerator mixed up (?!), pulling out on other vehicles and causing absolute carnage, or having a medical episode behind the wheel. They nearly always either can barely walk, are chronically confused or blind as a bat - but they still refuse to give up their driving licences.

The number of over 70s that drive the wrong way down slips roads and motorways/dual carriageways is nuts as well. We've had two in the last 3 days.

We also get a significant number of members of public calling up to report a suspected drink driver only to find out 8/10 times it's someone over the age of 70 who was oblivious to the fact that they were weaving all over the road and mounting curbs. I've also lost count of the amount of times we've responded to these jobs and that we've had to physically pull in front of them to get them to slow to a stop, because we've had blue lights and sirens on behind that for several miles without them even reacting.

Honestly, old drivers are IMO, the biggest hazard on the road and it's only going to get worse.

 

[MikeTheNative]

I wouldn't mind those fit to drive test for people under 70s to be honest. The headline is pretty mental though, will just end up more people getting hurt in the long run.

 

[Thekwango]

If anything, we need to be more robust in taking old people who can't drive properly off the road, not trying to enable them to continue driving by letting them off going through red lights because they can't see them.

we need to be more robust in taking anyone, old or otherwise, off the road who can't drive properly.

Unfortunately, I can hand on heart say, a good 60% of the serious or fatal RTC's I go to involve an old person (70+) running someone over/crashing into buildings because they've got the brake and accelerator mixed up (?!), pulling out on other vehicles and causing absolute carnage, or having a medical episode behind the wheel.

with all due respect i don't believe a single word of that. what % nationwide of all serious or fatal accidents are caused by 70+ year olds? without even looking i can guarantee you it's not 60%, or anywhere near it. so you're either badly mistaken (likely), lying (unlikely) or covering an area almost entirely populated by old farts!!

 

[Liquid_Entity]

I witnessed an old lady pull out of a parking space on one side of the High Street, swerve right across the road to the opposite side of the road where an almost brand new range rover was parked and drove right in to their front wing. Then to add insult to injury she reversed back in to oncoming traffic then turned more and ended up caving both front and rear doors on one side before then reversing again and then driving up the kerb and finally turning off the engine before she did any more serious damage.

 

[cuke2u]

BBC News - Who, what, why: How dangerous are elderly drivers?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24204489

 

[Housey]

I’d be happier sitting next to my 70 year old dad than pretty much any other person I know. Safe, smooth, quick. But he is a petrol head and a very very young 80 I also appreciate that this could decline in a short time, but the guy doesn’t even need glasses!

 

[Haggisman]

I think that assessing older drivers is a great idea but it should be in addition to rather than instead of fines and other penalties.

This. And for all drivers, not just for older ones

 

[robfosters]

My dads 73 and in the last 6 months has been done for driving while on a mobile phone and not wearing a seatbelt.

Both are bad, he’s had 6 points on his license and is very sorry for it, but IMO, neither of the offences are a measure of his ability to actually drive.

 

[Rroff]

At this time of year 1 trip in 4 (during the evening) I encounter elderly people doing this either coming the other way or get behind them:

It isn't fully clear in the video but they are doing half the speed limit or less most of the time, have their main beams on almost all the time resulting in every third driver or so flashing them and clearly not in full control of the vehicle.

Also encounter stuff like this not totally infrequently (image is from my dashcam):

https://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/18431349.91-year-old-drives-wrong-way-a30-near-sherborne/

As mentioned in the article if it had happened in that location the way it did at any other time and not during the pandemic with light traffic it would have almost certainly have resulted in a major accident.

I’d be happier sitting next to my 70 year old dad than pretty much any other person I know. Safe, smooth, quick. But he is a petrol head and a very very young 70. I also appreciate that this could decline in a short time, but the guy doesn’t even need glasses!

My dad is over 70 though his eye-sight isn't what it was still safe for driving for now and otherwise fully capable of driving properly.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

@Rroff - professional snitch

 

[AWPC]

Enough already with shaming older drivers try cracking down on DUI & dangerous driving its the no1 problem right now!!

 

[Rroff]

Enough already with shaming older drivers try cracking down on DUI & dangerous driving its the no1 problem right now!!

Have to say I've not encountered many people where they are obviously driving under the influence - the last one I can think of was 6 months ago. Although I regularly encounter the same group on a Sunday night driving well below the speed limit who potentially are - couple of them from the smell are probably hot boxing.

No idea how they stack up in terms of being the cause of accidents but the worst I see on a daily basis:

Pulling out of junctions expecting other drivers to adjust for them.
Lazy complacent driving cutting corners on bends, etc.
Bare minimal or below legal tyre tread.
Brushing past cyclists.
Jumping red lights.

First two especially annoy me as I see the same drivers regularly doing it, having close calls or nearly causing other drivers to crash, and continue to do it.

There is a lay-by near where I work they regularly move vehicles to involved in accidents on the nearby dual-carriageway and inevitably if there is an accident in the rain you'll find the vehicle(s) have no-name brand tyres, often mismatching, and basically no tread left.