Driving re tests for 65 years and older?

[mickd1961]

I read news today that someone has petitioned Parliament to try to get enough support for the 65’s and over to be retested.

Maybe someone could petition for re tests of everyone aged between 17 and 30 because most of the terrible driving I see is from this sort of age demographic!?

I’ll readily admit that at 62 I’m not as sharp as I used to be but I’ve still avoided a couple of terrible potential crashes this year thanks to my reflexes.

I’m a much steadier, thoughtful and slower driver than I used to be, I very much still to speed limits on everything other than the motorways these days and even on there I only tend to do around 75mph.

Everyone who drives should be made to take a regular eye test though, my eyesight was poor at 24 and I had to wear contact lenses, age isn’t always the determining factor with eyesight.

A health and medication check should be done on all drivers over 50 but re testing is just nonsense in my opinion unless someone has been involved in a serious incident.

[kettering_baggie]

Indeed, most of the knobs around here driving like tw@ts are clearly under 25!

[Leicesterbaggie]

Indeed, most of the knobs around here driving like tw@ts are clearly under 25!

Too true!

[Omegstrat6]

I'm certainly a better driver now in my sixties than I was in my thirties despite declining eyesight (corrected by glasses) but I think there is a genuine issue around older drivers failing to acknowledge their declining abilities to drive (e.g. slower reaction times and cognitive abilities).

As it stands, anyone who has health issues that impact upon their ability to drive has a legal responsibility to take corrective action and inform DVLA but, as this is virtually impossible to enforce ( and, as such, is almost a voluntary action to comply with) many potentially dangerous drivers remain behind the wheel. This is particularly true of elderly drivers for whom the possibility of having to stop driving after so many years is understandably seen by them as at yet another restriction on their independence that age brings. Until more regular medical "fit for driving" tests are made compulsory for older drivers (not necessarily full re-tests) the situation won't improve. My own dad is now 90 but whilst having come to terms with the fact that he no longer feels safe himself driving at night or on longer journeys or on busier roads, he has been loathe to give up driving completely even if the car is rarely used now except for really short journeys on roads he knows well. Conversations with him around this are undeniably difficult but compulsory "fit for driving" tests
would help take some of the personal sting out of the issue and force compliance. Even five years ago it wasn't such an issue but recently he has become increasingly frail if still thankfully quite fit for his age. Luckily, he now seems to be coming around to accepting the fact that he shouldn't drive and that the money saved on not having a car can be put towards taxi fares instead. The expense of having to use taxis does, however, highlight the need for far better public transport !

[Dubbag]

I read news today that someone has petitioned Parliament to try to get enough support for the 65’s and over to be retested.

Maybe someone could petition for re tests of everyone aged between 17 and 30 because most of the terrible driving I see is from this sort of age demographic!?

I’ll readily admit that at 62 I’m not as sharp as I used to be but I’ve still avoided a couple of terrible potential crashes this year thanks to my reflexes.

I’m a much steadier, thoughtful and slower driver than I used to be, I very much still to speed limits on everything other than the motorways these days and even on there I only tend to do around 75mph.

Everyone who drives should be made to take a regular eye test though, my eyesight was poor at 24 and I had to wear contact lenses, age isn’t always the determining factor with eyesight.

A health and medication check should be done on all drivers over 50 but re testing is just nonsense in my opinion unless someone has been involved in a serious incident.

I have to agree that younger drivers cab more problimatic drivers. I know cause I use to tear around in my youth on The Isle of Wight. Thankfully nevr had an accident.
Speed is the biggest danger and I am no longer in any hurry in life. Ihave never been fond of driving anyway. But I do think that moaat older driver tend to drive slower and perhaps are involved in less accidents but I have no figures to prove that.

[Omegstrat6]

I have to agree that younger drivers cab more problimatic drivers. I know cause I use to tear around in my youth on The Isle of Wight. Thankfully nevr had an accident.
Speed is the biggest danger and I am no longer in any hurry in life. Ihave never been fond of driving anyway. But I do think that moaat older driver tend to drive slower and perhaps are involved in less accidents but I have no figures to prove that.

My understanding is that speed remains the biggest factor in road accidents --and fatalities- but driving too slowly or being too hesitant (more likely amongst elderly drivers) can also cause accidents whether, for example, these are caused by coming out of junctions without proper awareness or by driving too far below the speed limit leading to impatience of those behind who are tempted to over take (a properly executed manoeuvre too evidently lost on many drivers these days!)

With an ageing population there are bound to be more elderly drivers on our roads and whilst I'm pretty confident that going too fast is not a major factor in accidents they are involved in, rising insurance premiums may suggest that they are involved in more minor accidents.

[Dubbag]

My understanding is that speed remains the biggest factor in road accidents --and fatalities- but driving too slowly or being too hesitant (more likely amongst elderly drivers) can also cause accidents whether, for example, these are caused by coming out of junctions without proper awareness or by driving too far below the speed limit leading to impatience of those behind who are tempted to over take (a properly executed manoeuvre too evidently lost on many drivers these days!)

With an ageing population there are bound to be more elderly drivers on our roads and whilst I'm pretty confident that going too fast is not a major factor in accidents they are involved in, rising insurance premiums may suggest that they are involved in more minor accidents.

Here in Ireland there is always a big awareness campaign to get the number of deaths on the road. A lot of deaths are due to the loss of control at the wheel of very powerful cars along with speed.
Accidents usually occur with injuries at reduced speeds especially for pedestrians. Being hit at 30 kph is more survivable then at 40 kph. Quite a lot of single vehicle crashes over here are usually in access of 60 kph on twisty roads.
I get what your driving at all the same...Omeg.

[soulman101]

My wife tests my driving every time we go out , I only got 2 moinors yesterday .
Coming back from the match on Tuesday , Lisa didn't go but she had a tracker on Reece's phone and she dobbed me in to my telling I was doing 33mph down Holloway bank .
my wife said she is going to put a tracker on my phone ,

[mickd1961]

My understanding is that speed remains the biggest factor in road accidents --and fatalities- but driving too slowly or being too hesitant (more likely amongst elderly drivers) can also cause accidents whether, for example, these are caused by coming out of junctions without proper awareness or by driving too far below the speed limit leading to impatience of those behind who are tempted to over take (a properly executed manoeuvre too evidently lost on many drivers these days!)

With an ageing population there are bound to be more elderly drivers on our roads and whilst I'm pretty confident that going too fast is not a major factor in accidents they are involved in, rising insurance premiums may suggest that they are involved in more minor accidents.

How many times do you see or hear of a fatal accident being caused by an older driver compared to a younger driver?

Back in 1981, my wife’s brother John killed himsflf ( aged 17 ) and put some girl he’d met literally for the first time minutes earlier, in a wheelchair for life after crashing his minivan on a country lane.

Kets and a few other locals will know Wassell Grove, right by Old Halesownian’s rugby club, 43 years later you can still see the scars on the oak tree he hit.

I drove like an idiot in my ****s and 20’s and even well after that but I now take a lot of care and have gone quite a long time without a speeding ticket.

I read with interest that there’s a massive backlog in driving tests for our younger hopefuls due to a lack of examiners, I think we can breath easy, our governments haven’t the wit to organise this particular p I s s up in a brewery.

I wonder how many on here will, like myself, admit they’d probably fail the theory exam?

I’m pretty sure I would.

However, that doesn’t limit my/our actual driving ability and the ability to control a car safely.

I’d rather have a 70 year old heart surgeon who’s been doing the job for 40 years but who hasn’t read the manual recently than the 30 year old surgeon just out of medical school.

You get my drift I assume?

[Omegstrat6]

How many times do you see or hear of a fatal accident being caused by an older driver compared to a younger driver?

Back in 1981, my wife’s brother John killed himsflf ( aged 17 ) and put some girl he’d met literally for the first time minutes earlier, in a wheelchair for life after crashing his minivan on a country lane.

Kets and a few other locals will know Wassell Grove, right by Old Halesownian’s rugby club, 43 years later you can still see the scars on the oak tree he hit.

I drove like an idiot in my ****s and 20’s and even well after that but I now take a lot of care and have gone quite a long time without a speeding ticket.

I read with interest that there’s a massive backlog in driving tests for our younger hopefuls due to a lack of examiners, I think we can breath easy, our governments haven’t the wit to organise this particular p I s s up in a brewery.

I wonder how many on here will, like myself, admit they’d probably fail the theory exam?

I’m pretty sure I would.

However, that doesn’t limit my/our actual driving ability and the ability to control a car safely.

I’d rather have a 70 year old heart surgeon who’s been doing the job for 40 years but who hasn’t read the manual recently than the 30 year old surgeon just out of medical school.

You get my drift I assume?

Totally understand what you're saying and am in total agreement with you regarding younger drivers being the ones who cause the vast majority of major accidents, mostly due to them driving dangerously and driving too fast. At that age maybe too many think they are invincible, take risks because they don't have the experience to know better and put others in danger because they only think of themselves.

All I am saying is that, whilst I wouldn't support the idea of compulsory re-tests after 65, I do think that there are becoming issues with the increasing numbers of elderly drivers on the roads who do not acknowledge the deterioration in their abilities.

At the end of the day though, until the data around the numbers of road accidents and percentage of serious incidents in relation to age is more closely examined, it is impossible to put forward any corrective measures.

Tbh, I am more concerned with how easy it seems for those who shouldn't be behind a wheel in the first place to continue to do so even with previous convictions and the reduction in the numbers of police on our roads to help monitor this is surely a big factor alongside too much leniency from courts. Last year my son in law lost several members of his close family due to an uninsured and drugged up driver in an untaxed car with previous convictions for the same crashing into them whilst doing 90 mph in a 30 mph zone. The risible sentence he got for killing 3 people led to a social media campaign that attracted thousands of signatures to review the case and award a far heavier prison term.