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

stockhausen · 17 Jan 2019 at 18:56

Some 97 year old man was driving a Range Rover and pulling out of a driveway onto the A149 when an accident involving another vehicle occurred. The Range Rover ended up on its side and the driver was reported as being conscious but "very, very shocked" and shaken but not seriously injured.

It is not clear at what speed the other vehicle was travelling or whether either driver was breathalysed or what the result was but I really don't think that any 97 year old man should be let loose on the public road.

What do the denizens of OcUK's General Discussion think?

ps - The occupants of the other vehicle, an unidentified saloon car, are reported as having been treated for minor injuries but are apparently not seriously injured either.

BuffetSlayer · 17 Jan 2019 at 18:58

Royalty innit.

Zefan · 17 Jan 2019 at 18:59

It's hard to argue against you really. My difficulty is, where do you draw the line? Is 96 year old OK to drive?

Kelt · 17 Jan 2019 at 19:01

Absolutely not.

Anyone over the age of 65 should be euthanised.

Oh ****, I've only got two years left

Freakbro · 17 Jan 2019 at 19:06

Zefan said:
It's hard to argue against you really. My difficulty is, where do you draw the line? Is 96 year old OK to drive?

You could draw a line by introducing age related retests to check compitency?

Mynight · 17 Jan 2019 at 19:13

Surely it depends on their competency not age?

I would prefer people require a retest every X time once they reach a certain age. To be honest it could be argued that retesting every so often for anyone is a good idea.

stockhausen · 17 Jan 2019 at 19:16

Freakbro said:
You could draw a line by introducing age related retests to check competency?

Why "age related"?

Shouldn't everyone have to retake a theory and practical driving test every five years? It would keep some incompetent drivers off the roads.

MadMan-JaMeS · 17 Jan 2019 at 19:18

To be honest, probably not. But it depends and should be assessed on a case by case basis.

I am however in favour of everyone being restested at certain intervals to make sure they don’t get to complacent.

Freakbro · 17 Jan 2019 at 19:21

stockhausen said:
Why "age related"?

Shouldn't everyone have to retake a theory and practical driving test every five years? It would keep some incompetent drivers off the roads.

Because there is a stage in life when your physical faculties start to drop off quicker than before. So you can assume a certain length of time after passing your test, if you don't want to be too onerous on the population, that you are still in the realms of physical compitency for driving .

And since you started this thread because of the age of the driver, a pretty high age at 97, then that seems to be the discussion point, no? rather than do some incompetent drivers pass their test in the first place.

andicole0 · 17 Jan 2019 at 19:22

It was not an accident, the police classify these incidents as crashes these days. There should be a competency test but I am not sure how you define when it should take place.
Andi.

Roland Butter · 17 Jan 2019 at 19:31

Of course not, no-one aged 97 should be driving.

A compulsory annual driving test, an annual medical after the age of 75 and higher insurance premiums should discourage
coffin dodgers from driving.

I base this reprehensible and ageist opinion on no evidence whatsoever, but it will save lives, that's the most important thing.

iamdjdz · 17 Jan 2019 at 19:32

I think that 96 is far too old to be driving as a general rule, however, I think the specific driver should be allowed to drive what and whenever he wants for as long as he wants no matter what the outcome.

robfosters · 17 Jan 2019 at 19:37

I think it’s too old to be driving. I don’t care who you are, Prince Philip, the Queen, the prime minister or Arthur, the retired milkman from Swindon, you’re endangering innocent peoples lives and it should be stopped.

If the person in the other car had died and Phillip was found to be at fault, absolutely nothing would happen to him and that’s another bone of contention with me.

Uther · 17 Jan 2019 at 19:41

I suspect the lunatic involved would be exempt from any tests we peasants would be subjected to.

andicole0 · 17 Jan 2019 at 19:43

Just a minute guys you are assuming the 97 year old was at fault, has there been any detail to confirm that?
Andi.

robfosters · 17 Jan 2019 at 19:47

andicole0 said:
Just a minute guys you are assuming the 97 year old was at fault, has there been any detail to confirm that?
Andi.

He pulled out onto oncoming traffic. It’s hard to see how it’s not his fault really.

Uther · 17 Jan 2019 at 19:47

andicole0 said:
Just a minute guys you are assuming the 97 year old was at fault

Yes

andicole0 said:
has there been any detail to confirm that?
Andi.

No

Randomface74 · 17 Jan 2019 at 19:48

Yeah there's defo an age, somewhere between 70 and 80, where you need to be stopping driving. People should do this voluntarily as part of being a responsible driver. No shame in it.

koolpc · 17 Jan 2019 at 19:49

Apparently a Corgi was driving the car.

Uther · 17 Jan 2019 at 19:49

The car is on its side, so I would guess it was T boned when pulling out. Lucky he wasn't killed.

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

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