that pensioners driving could be a danger on the roads

mishap, thank you for your concern.I am improving slowly..

amarmai it is bad enough having the accident but when they start taking photos and the gawpers just stand there, leaving you lying on the road with your bike on top of you, where has compassion and common sense gone?

I also hope that you get better soon.

Just read in today's paper that there are more than 200 centenarians still driving in the UK!

Hope you're on the mend amarmai ?

My dad did a driving assessment two years ago, when he was 80. He was told that he drove with confidence and flair, but in the relatively short time since then we have really noticed his driving ability going downhill.
I wouldn't say that he's dangerous yet, but at this rate it's only a matter of time before he reaches that stage and will have to stop driving.

As others have said, the car is their lifeline, and being without it doesn't bear thinking about for my parents. They desperately want to avoid moving house, but the nearest shops / services are over a mile away, and both my brother and I live too far away to provide any practical help on a daily basis. It worries me a lot

We have adjusted MamaCas. My DH gave up driving in June last year and we are also some distance paticularly from shops.However we can walk short distances and we walk to the shops and get a taxi back. If anyone offers to do some shopping for us we take them up on their offer and a good friend ,who meets me for coffee weekly will call at the shops so I can pick up bits and bobs before she brings me home. Having said that we both hate it and really feel the loss of our independence. No more just nipping to the garden centre etc. Dh will be 79 in two weeks time.

thank you,Charleygirl and Anya. I am improving slowly. I am ambivalent regarding older drivers as i realise they are as dependent on their cars as i am on my bicycle.

This is a part of a government document on UK road accidents statistics by age.

Here goes in the stats I copied from the document.
This is drivers killed or seriously injured.

8% were 17 to 19 yrs old
25% were 20 to 29yrs old
42% were 30 to 59 yrs old
9% were 60 to 69 yrs old
13% were over 70

Which suggests that "us" generally the older age group are not the worst offenders.

However I think there should be better monitoring of all drivers.
How about compulsory eye tests every two years for all drivers with a certificate to prove vision is acceptable being required by the DVLA when re-taxing a vehicle?

For those who like to see the evidence try this link.
You probably cannot see the whole of the PDF document unless you have Adobe reader installed.

www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/sn02198.pdf
See page 11 for the figures I quoted.

I think those statistics are only relative to the actual amount of people driving in each age group category though Nelliemoser.

Obviously the 30-59 age group will be highest as there will be the most people of this age group on the road.

We went to a friend's house for a meal on Friday and were horrified that her father still drives with Alzheimer's at the age of 85. He regularly leaves home if his wife upsets him, drives round the village and comes home having forgotten that he was upset. Our friend says that, as he is a bit of a bully which is being exacerbated by his illness, she is worried that he will take it out on her mum if his car is missing or he can't find the keys. Rather that though than him knocking down a child!

My FIL is still driving at 87 with a cataract. I won't get in a car with him as his speed/distance perception is shot.