Is over 80 too old to be driving?

The answer is that it depends on the driver. Some 80 year olds would be fine - and indeed the stats show that older drivers tend to be more safe - mainly I think because they alter their driving habits to suit their abilities, e.g. only driving familiar routes or not driving after dark.

We do not know what has caused this dreadful accident - the driver may have suffered a stroke or a heart attack, and, although these are more common in the elderly, it could have happened to anyone.

I think there should be mandatory health checks. And a driving test at, say, seventyfive.

I think 75 is a good age to test.

Some people are fit to drive at 80 but I do agree that a driving test around the mid 70's as jing suggests is probably a good idea

I'm not a great fan of yet more testing BUT I don't see how it's still possible to pass your driving test without ever having driven on a motorway, then drive on a motorway. I've been genuinely unnerved during the recent heavy rain/high winds to see so many drivers driving very fast in conditions when a) they can't see and b) they couldn't possibly stop their car if they had to. So, I'd have everyone re-take a test at intervals,maybe every 20 years. Anyone who caused an accident by careless or dangerous driving would be expected to re take the driving test (that's when i rule the world folks, so you're safe)

There is no evidence to suggest that elderly drivers are a danger on the roads , in fact it is the 20-24 year olds who cause most accidents and have more fatalities whilst driving. I am very much against extra testing of elderly divers which could result in them losing their independence for no good reason , we all have off days and could fail a test for numerous reasons not connected to our driving competence .

I have modified my driving as I have got older (65) , I don`t drive in the dark in unfamiliar places now or drive on motorways if the weather is bad , I think most people know their own limitations. It is a different story if you know an elderly person or a person of any age is careless or wreckless on the road , but just testing because someone reaches a certain age is not right .

My X was always trying to put an end to his 80 year old Mums driving and car ownership and she was certainly a safer driver than he was . She stopped driving herself when she reached 90 as she was beginning to feel nervous with the sheer amount of traffic on the roads .

My 82 year old mother still drives, many friends rely on her to give them lifts!
She did lose confidence after my Dad died 4 years ago. She's particularly nervous when tail gated (who isn't?) and is dazzled by oncoming lights at night.
So she had an assessment with a driving instructor who gave her some tips and confirmed that her driving is fine.
OTOH she related a phone call to me yesterday from an American friend who's in her late 80's and has early dementia. Apparently this friend has seen her doctor and is thrilled that she has been given permission to keep driving till her late 90's. Makes your blood run cold.

DH is now feeling that he wants to give up driving and although he's been a driver for most of his adult life (HGV), he recognises the fact that his reactions are slower and he becomes a bit anxious in heavy traffic so he won't re-apply for his licence when it's due again.
I'm not confident on motorways, but I know that if I have him sitting in the passenger seat, I'll be ok for longer journeys that entail motorway driving.
As he says, he's never once had any form of accident and doesn't want to be the cause of one now.

I agree with the above but I also feel that people should be forced to have their eyes tested 2 yearly. I have an ex friend who is a diabetic, can no longer read road signs of any size and has never been to an optician to have her eyes tested. She buys glasses in a chemist or supermarket off the shelf, buying what she thinks will suit her.

She is the one who dragged the steering wheel out of my hand and once parked and locked my car with the engine still running. I refuse to have her in the passenger seat now, never mind drive my car. I once stopped at a bus stop and invited her to catch a bus because I could no longer take the long running commentary about my driving. I have never had an accident.

I passed 4 driving school cars the other day when it was lashing down: not one had their lights on!!!.
These would be the stupid people who say: but I can see!!! Not realising that people can't see you clearly.

treebee I agree "Oo-er"!!
Re night driving and being dazzled, I sympathise, and a neighbour recently recommended yellow night driving glasses to wear over her regular glasses. She swears by them and I think got them from Amazon.

I worry more about the white van syndromes than the driving age.

Had break hard this morning when a white van came right out of a side road without stopping, then speeded up in a 30mph zone to well over 50 mph.

We had a white van (couple of youngish fellows, late 30s, early 40s), drive out of a side turning straight at us last week. They clearly didn't see us at all, because they just kept coming at us and my DH did some very nifty swerving to get out of their way - we were expecting a thud any second and quite frankly I have no idea how they didn't hit us. They were within 6" of the car. My new car, only had it 10 days . DH pulled up, got out and shouted and swore at remonstrated with them, but the driver merely held up his hand and drove past. He obviously thought that was a sufficient apology

I don't think driving ability can be measured by age. Everyone is different, people age at different rates. One person of 65 can be much older and slower to react than another person in their late 80s. I do think, though, that some form of assessment should be carried out somewhere in the mid 70s. Not a test as such, which could at a stroke revoke a person's licence - that would be terribly unfair. But if an assessment showed some areas of concern, then the person could be obliged to go on a refresher course just to brush up their skills. If that didn't help, then maybe a full test would be the only answer. Yes, it's sad to take away a person's independence, but better that than they cause a fatal accident.

The driver's age is always focused on if there's an accident.

This happened very recently. Driver and front seat passenger were both said to be over 80. www.echo-news.co.uk/news/14270854.VIDEO__Road_closed_after_accident_outside_Adventure_Island__Southend/

Quite honestly it is a mystery how this happened. There's a 20 mph limit along the whole of the sea-front. Much of it is 'shared space' i.e. pedestrians have as much right as have drivers. There are always families and children crossing to get to Adventure Island.

It looks likely that (a) the woman driver and her passenger were not wearing seat-belts and (b) it may have been an older car without airbags. And that she was driving much too fast and possibly was distracted/not paying attention.

None of this has anything to do with her age.

We're both in our 9th decade - he's 81, I'll be 81 this summer. My husband has problems with his mobility, but once he's in the driving seat his back is supported, he doesn't need his left leg, and we can go for long distances. We've both done Advanced driving courses and are both well aware of the dangers on modern roads. Older people don't tend to chatter on their mobiles while driving, which I saw just this afternoon, a young woman.

Oh dear, how can there possibly be a generalisation about driving safety linked to age? As has been posted previously, statistically it is younger drivers who cause the most accidents and yes, there is a tendency for the media to report via age, rather than any other detail. There are drivers of all ages who are a danger to themselves and others but there are many who aren't. The key is to identify the dangerous drivers before they become potentially fatal accidents. Maybe everyone should have a driving assessment (not a test) every 5 years? Once introduced the outcome could provide reference points to track either improvements or deterioration in driving skills and safety. I'm possibly over reacting as I do get irritated when anything is 'blamed' on age, rather than the detail of the individual situation, but surely the issue of driver safety is more complex than age?

There was an item on older drivers on television recently. The DVLA centre in Wokingham had found that older drivers have slower reactions than young ones and may have mobility problems but they compensate by driving slower and leaving more space between themselves and other vehicles. They also avoid things they find problematic such as driving at night. The younger drivers tended to drive too close and too fast and were continually braking heavily when they misjudged distances.

In the last hour, an elderly chap banged on our door. I don't think he could see our doorbell. He had parked his new'ish car outside and said he had been driving around our small estate of bungalows, totally lost, for some time.
He couldn't recall the name of the lady, or address, he was meant to be visiting, but eventually found it on his mobile, alas no credit left on his phone.
I asked where he had driven from, "London." We are in Herts.He said the street lamps were confusing him. He was wearing very strong glasses.
He then drew a rough map of where he thought the house was.
We suggested a few street names, and luckily he recognised one.
My husband then got our car and drove in front of him until he reached roughly where he thought the house was. A very worried lady came to the door and said she was anxious as he was so late.
We dread to think of his drive home, to London, on a Saturday, in the dark.

In the last hour, an elderly chap banged on our door. I don't think he could see our doorbell. He had parked his new'ish car outside and said he had been driving around our small estate of bungalows, totally lost, for some time.
He couldn't recall the name of the lady, or address, he was meant to be visiting, but eventually found it on his mobile, alas no credit left on his phone.
I asked where he had driven from, "London." We are in Herts.He said the street lamps were confusing him. He was wearing very strong glasses.
He then drew a rough map of where he thought the house was.
We suggested a few street names, and luckily he recognised one.
My husband then got our car and drove in front of him until he reached roughly where he thought the house was. A very worried lady came to the door and said she was anxious as he was so late.
We dread to think of his drive home, to London, on a Saturday, in the dark.

Sorry for the repetition, my eyesight isn't wonderful either.
Then again, I don't drive.

I was talking about this yesterday with a friend, before I heard about the crash. Her father is 80+, as is my FiL and both are still driving. In fact, both bought brand new cars in the last year, so you have to admire their optimism.

The thing is both have been driving for more than 60 years which means the thought 'paths' in their brains will be deeply ingrained, so memory problems from something like dementia are not likely because it's more recent memories which are affected.

Both are cautious drivers and far more likely to leave the correct distance between their car and the one in front, not take chances at roundabouts, drive too fast, etc. They both only do local journeys, so don't drive at higher speeds. Both have regular eye tests and one just had laser treatment after realising his eye sight was changing. The other is diabetic and takes his health very seriously because he wants to continue driving.

These are all the kind of reasons why older drivers are not the group most likely to have an accident and when you think about it that way, it does make sense.

I'm not in favour of testing for older drivers unless testing is also introduced for other reasons such as following licence loss, serious accidents, repeated speeding offences, etc. For too many older people a car is their independence and link with the outside world.

Agreed, our car is our independence and link with the outside world.

DH is 81 and his reactions are still excellent. Just today, 2 near-misses, would have been accidents if his reactions hadn't been so good. The second one, a motor-cyclist overtook us at speed on the left, in a clearly-marked cycle lane BUT I don't think cycle lanes are meant for motor-cycles.

We've both had our cataracts done, some years ago now and vision is better than it used to be when we wore glasses.

DH has just paid off the car loan. This car will be 3 years old in March so it's pretty modern and may be the last car we ever buy. It's a Ford Fiesta titanium.

My dear late Mum always asked me to tell her if I thought her driving was deteriorating. She had both knee joints replaced and I took her out after each op to get her confidence back, but she was quite a good driver and only drove locally on roads she knew. At the age of 82 she had a stroke and at that age recovery is a little slow. We checked with DVLA who told us she was still able to drive without a medical and I took her out and about a few times but she'd lost her confidence after the stroke. Was really waiting for me to ask her whether she still wanted to drive, which I did one day and she admitted she was not really confident enough to drive any more and wanted to give up her car. I told her she could afford to have taxis if she needed them and she was quite happy with this. Our local authority swapped her bus pass for £100 worth of taxi vouchers and she could use a £2 voucher each time she took a taxi, which she did to get to the hairdressers etc. Mum did find it a bit isolating as she was no longer confident enough to walk down the road and cross a busy road to get to the bus stop, so was not able to go out whenever she wanted to, but luckily I only worked part-time and was able to run her around to medical appointments etc.

I think it's a conversation you should have with your elderly parents before they get to the stage where their driving is becoming unsafe.

I am now the sole driver in our house as OH lost his licence for medical reasons. I try to avoid driving at night as the sight in my right eye is not fully correctable and I hate the bright lights coming towards me - I have a feeling that cars have must brighter lights now. It certainly feels like it!

My main problem is that OH is just about the most nervous passenger you can imagine. He refuses to answer me if I speak to him as he says I should be concentrating on my driving and not talking to someone! It is a source of some strife and journeys, especially to a holiday destination, are a nightmare. I have to teach myself to close my ears and not let myself be riled by the "braking" he is doing, the running commentary on potential hazards, and the frequent gasps and grabbing the dashboard. I have to say that I drive others around and they do not do this!

It was the cause of a Valentine's Day altercation today as I told him that his behaviour in the car was making me less safe! Sigh.

Soooo, it's ok for him to talk to you Luckygirl? That's not right!

I think refresher driving lessons are the answer. In fact I think everyone should have one every few years no matter what their age. They keep us up to date with changing Highway Code rules and I enjoy doing it.