Should older drivers be retested or have a competency assessment?

[shepp]

I think 75 is about the right age for a re-test or just an assessment, as long as there are no medical conditions that would effect driving before that age.

 

[Gunge]

Some days I wake up feeling as bright as a button, others as if I've just crawled outta the hedge bottom. Maybe some geezer should come round and give me a once-over before deeming me fit (or not) to be let loose on the public highway.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

It could make more sense to make anyone who has more that a certain no of crashes be retested regardless of age.

That sounds like a good idea but again you are relying on the persons honesty, if they bump the car wing on the garage door post because they misjudged the distance (or as in the OP got the accelerator and brake mixed up) they are not going to report it or any accident where there was no witness if they thought doing so could lose them their licence.



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[Gunge]

That sounds like a good idea but again you are relying on the persons honesty, if they bump the car wing on the garage door post because they misjudged the distance (or as in the OP got the accelerator and brake mixed up) they are not going to report it or any accident where there was no witness if they thought doing so could lose them their licence.



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Lol you mean like that time I left a lamp post as flat as a pancake then scarpered?

 

[geetee]

Yeah a tough call,
I think the message that like minded people like me n u are saying...knowingly drive a car or what ever that its can be dangerous, your putting yourselves and others at risk!! Like committing a crime...
Thinks it's everybodies common sence no matter how old they are to do a volunteery assessment of some sort....or done something about it! Before some body get injured of killed.
Like the last two or three days I could think of driving, but today I've rested, feel stronger, and going to pick my daughter up.
I'll be avidly looking at this thread.
Thx for viewing
Bri

It is a crime to drive when you know you are unfit however that did teh people of Glascow no good at all when the bin wagon driver who had medical issues decided to hide them and carry on driving. Even after he killed 6 people he still carried on and got caught again.
No action was taken against him for the first offence and he merely got a 3 year ban for teh second. , he was 58 at the time of the first offence so age is not a good indicator , but illness is. What good is having a system where you can knowingly carry on driving whilst unfit, kill 6 people and still face no charges.

I agree ths system has to assess people on their abilities (not their disabilities) regardless of age. many 80 year olds will carry on safely driving so why should they face a test when the stats say they are probably among the safet.

 

[terrym]

I agree ths system has to assess people on their abilities (not their disabilities) regardless of age. many 80 year olds will carry on safely driving so why should they face a test when the stats say they are probably among the safet.

In my opinion one of the biggest problems with elderly drivers is the fact that although they feel they are driving safely at a reduced speed in recognition of the fact that they feel unsafe if moving faster, relative to the rest of the traffic (which may be moving to match local road conditions), they are actually causing a hazard since others may then take unnecessary risks to overtake. My earlier example was someone travelling at 35mph in a 50 limit when it is safe to travel at 50. This is actually recognised in the driving test as 'making progress' and I suspect many elderly drivers would fail the current driving test on this criterion alone.

 

[Manxnorton]

It is a crime to drive when you know you are unfit however that did teh people of Glascow no good at all when the bin wagon driver who had medical issues decided to hide them and carry on driving. Even after he killed 6 people he still carried on and got caught again.
No action was taken against him for the first offence and he merely got a 3 year ban for teh second. , he was 58 at the time of the first offence so age is not a good indicator , but illness is. What good is having a system where you can knowingly carry on driving whilst unfit, kill 6 people and still face no charges.

I agree ths system has to assess people on their abilities (not their disabilities) regardless of age. many 80 year olds will carry on safely driving so why should they face a test when the stats say they are probably among the safet.

good one pal

 

[Wombat32]

I grew up in Florida. I would be in favor of a mandatory road test at 65, then again at 70, 75, and every 2 years after that.

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[ElvisIsBeer]

75 feels about right to me.

It's a potentially awful thing, though.

 

[TheQuokka]

In my opinion one of the biggest problems with elderly drivers is the fact that although they feel they are driving safely at a reduced speed in recognition of the fact that they feel unsafe if moving faster, relative to the rest of the traffic (which may be moving to match local road conditions), they are actually causing a hazard since others may then take unnecessary risks to overtake. My earlier example was someone travelling at 35mph in a 50 limit when it is safe to travel at 50. This is actually recognised in the driving test as 'making progress' and I suspect many elderly drivers would fail the current driving test on this criterion alone.

Now you are challenging the laws of Physics to justify your far more dangerous aggressive and impatient driving style! The Energy of momentum is 0.5 times mass times velocity squared - and this is the energy that must be expended by brakes or in a collision. Of course lower speeds also allow a greater reaction time, suggest greater distances meaning better vision, etc.

It is perfectly OK to overtake a slower driver safely and legally, but if you are that impatient you are likely the greater danger.

 

[terrym]

Now you are challenging the laws of Physics to justify your far more dangerous aggressive and impatient driving style! The Energy of momentum is 0.5 times mass times velocity squared - and this is the energy that must be expended by brakes or in a collision. Of course lower speeds also allow a greater reaction time, suggest greater distances meaning better vision, etc.

It is perfectly OK to overtake a slower driver safely and legally, but if you are that impatient you are likely the greater danger.

Kinetic energy has little to do with elderly drivers as far as I am concerned.
My post concerned the inability of many elderly drivers to drive at speeds which are safe for other road users and within the speed limit, which in itself usually has a generous safety margin factored in e.g clear road ahead and no obvious hazards, and that creates a hazard, like it or not.
And I quoted from a source which had nothing to do with my personal driving style, and neither did I mention it.

 

[Ale]

I would say older drivers should be retested but 70 is too young these days. maybe 75 or 80 would be a better starting point.

And young drivers are no better. I've just had to reverse about 250 yeards down a narrow road as some prick of a young driver outright refused to reverse the 20 yards ro so he need to to let me though. It took a lot of will power not to get out and knock the little s**t out.

 

[dad_of_jon]

with auto braking, lane departure and self parking already on the next car I'm looking at for mrs DOJ, perhaps the real skills needed to drive in the future will be IT related rather than your ability to steer and press the right pedal.

 

[Gunge]

with auto braking, lane departure and self parking already on the next car I'm looking at for mrs DOJ, perhaps the real skills needed to drive in the future will be IT related rather than your ability to steer and press the right pedal.

Aren't we all going to be in driverless cars anyway before long - thus rendering age-related competency tests irrelevant? Maybe they should instead have competency tests for filling in insurance forms. A ****-up on my part has resulted in my premium for a recently acquired Mazda go up by £160. I claimed full NCD earned on my motorbike and as a named driver on the missus' policy but apparently they're not transferable. Grrr,gnash etc.

 

[terrym]

I would say older drivers should be retested but 70 is too young these days. maybe 75 or 80 would be a better starting point.

And young drivers are no better. I've just had to reverse about 250 yeards down a narrow road as some prick of a young driver outright refused to reverse the 20 yards ro so he need to to let me though. It took a lot of will power not to get out and knock the little s**t out.

That's really frustrating.
I suppose you could have just toughed it out. Depends who was in the biggest hurry, and who else turned up.
My wife also had that a few years ago, because two misogynistic twats in a van wouldn't reverse, when it would have been easier for them to do so.

 

[cmwood64]

Years ago my Great Uncle had several strokes (he's dead now), but his doctor continued to sign him off as medically fit to drive as long as he didn't go too far! He only ever went up and down to the local shops as far as I know, but he had a manual transmission car and had very little strength on his left side so couldn't operate the clutch. In order to drive he had to get his wife to sit in the front passenger seat and swing her leg over the transmission tunnel to work the clutch so he could change gear! As far as I know he never actually had an accident, but he must have been a timebomb waiting to go off. Probably more luck than judgement that he didn't.

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