Should he still be driving at 97?

lilihu since when has lack of knowledge on any subject stopped people on GN knowing all about it? {grin]

Golden I shouldn't bet because you would lose. Not so long ago there was a TV programme about older people driving and one of them was the father of a friend. Every morning he got up, drove into town, bought a paper and went to the betting shop then home. He was still driving at 100 and the DVLA didn't stop him.

I meant your post about a court case, Annie

You are driving without due care and attention if you pull out in front of an oncoming car and cause an accident. It's the driver's responsibility to judge the speed of the approaching car before pulling out.

merlot, I am talking about cars being driven over the speed limit , Maw said the car had the right of way, which it did, I was wondering where the law stands if the car was over the speed limit, doesn’t affect the car having right of way , it did, but does being over the speed limit affect the outcome of a court case

Prince Philip caused the accident by pulling out in front of an oncoming car which couldn't avoid hitting him. If the police can prove they were speeding it's a separate matter.

What are you talking about, Anniebach?

Does it apply if the car was over the speed limit Maw ?

Lincolnimp the other car will have had right of way and while it would have been ideal if they had managed to swerve to avoid the Land Rover altogether, the onus is still on him to give way -and not to pull out if the road is not clear! What if it had been a big artic instead of a Kia?

merlotgran he nearly killed ? When was the court case ?

No definately not. Regardless of him being a member of the Royal Family he should not be allowed behind the wheel again. Nor should anyone else in that same age group either. Think if it had been an ordinary member of the general public there would have been more questions asked. I felt sorry for the people in the other car who were barely mentioned initially. Their lives are as equally important.

My understanding is that the other car drove into his as he was coming out if a side road. They must have been coming at some speed to overturn Philip's car

I love my independence too, but I dont drive in the dark and definately dont drive when its icy on the roads, I do live in Sweden, and know my limitations, and responsibility to others.

Most older people wear glasses for driving, his eyesight must be b.....y wonderful to get to 97 and not need them. Ij also heard he was blinded by the sun and also that he has a habit of driving fast.

Archbishop John Sentamu tweeted:

Almighty God, the Fountain of all Goodness,We humbly beseech thee to bless Philip Duke of Edinburgh:Endue him with thy Holy Spirit; enrich him with thy Heavenly Grace; prosper him with all happiness; and bring him to thine everlasting kingdom, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

It was pointed out to him that he'd made no mention of the people in the other car, who'd been injured. Half an hour later he tweeted:

God of Love and Compassion reach out with your Peace to the people who were in the car involved in the traffic accident with Prince Philip’s vehicle.Amen

I'm disappointed that even the saintly Sentamu got carried away so gushingly in beseeching his god for Prince Philip and had to be embarrassed into given a mention to the two women and a baby.

Absolutely, definitely NO. And the fact that he is, and doing so by himself without a bodyguard is ridiculous. I heard on the news at lunchtime that he did have a bodyguard following somewhere behind in another car but if that was really the case, why did he have to be rescued by a pensioner cyclist? The average person at that age would certainly be having to jump through hoop after hoop to retain a driving licence, and having a clean bill of health would be one of those hoops. We all know about Prince Philip's state of health, he has several medical problems and you can bet your bottom dollar that the DVLA would be excluding any other comparable 97 year old from driving. It's he same old story isn't it?

Very little publicity for the two women and baby travelling in the other car. The screaming baby needed to rescued by a witness who stopped to help and both women needed hospital treatment - one I believe has a broken arm. Terrifying. Let the Duke roam around his private estates in his land rover but keep him off the public highway. The man is 97 for goodness sake!

My FIL gave up driving when he was 70 - he said he knew that his reactions weren't as good as they used to be, and the roads were getting busier, and he didn't want to be responsible for an accident. He and MIL got their free bus passes and happily used them the rest of their lives. (The caveat is, of course, that they lived near local shops and their bus stop was only a short walk away from their bungalow - maybe if all elderly people were able to live somewhere similar, they would be more willing to give up driving?)

I just hope that the dukes accident doesn't provoke the anti ageist groups to get on their high horse and try to get everyone off the road after their 70th birthday. Having said that I do believe 97 is too old to be behind the wheel of the car. Perhaps his body guards were only there to help him escape from the vehicle should such an accident occur. I'm glad no one was seriously hurt though.

I agree with many of you who feel that really no one of 97 should still be driving on public roads. To be honest I think that there should be a cut off age when people are no longer allowed to drive, maybe 90 or 85.
My own mother is 91 , and whilst she was an excellent driver in her time, I no longer feel she is really safe to drive. When her car died recently, she insisted on buying another, aged 91! Yes, it’s her independence, but what price the independence of the very old to drive?

Nobody, Prince or not, should be driving at 97, on public roads. Members of his family should be advising him this, as well as his doctor. 97 indeed!!

Based on the witness who says he helped the Duke out of the car, he was on his own. That'll probably be the last time!

How bloody rude was Princess Anne's response to a reporter enquiring about Prince Phillip during a visit to Lancashire?

When asked how PP was she replied, 'I've no idea. You know where I am? Same place as you'.

You'd think she could have answered a little more graciously given her father could have killed two women and a baby.

He didn't drive into anyone - he pulled out of a side road (blinded by the sun) and they drove into him

What do you mean by this *knickas63? Also how do you know he was blinded by the sun?

But of course, the occupants of the other car were allowed to be ‘driving at some speed’ as the speed limit was said to be 60 on the main road.

The pictures I saw had a dent in the left side of the car so the other car hit him not the other way around as some people are saying - ok he shouldn't have pulled out but how many of us are guilty of that as well. The other car must have been travelling at some speed to cause that much of a dent in a supposedly re-inforced car and to send it rolling over and over. He and the other driver were breathalysed so they obviously didn't "leave the scene of the accident" until allowed to.