Should he still be driving at 97?

It is difficult to be specific about individuals but this is certainly a serious issue we need to discuss. My husband has recently had a serious discussion with his Dad. He has now stopped driving long distances but is just as vulnerable (as are other roads users) on the short distances. Obviously, we don't want to fall out with our elderly parents and risk our last conversations being difficult so I recommend that the Government step in and develop some laws that would work for all.

I wonder where he was heading for? Just curious! He will be very shaken up after this though, and may feel too unnerved to drive on public roads again.

No! If reports are correct he should be done for careless driving and lose his license. Expect he will think he should get away with it though, because of who he is.
I remember my husband’s father was a Police Officer many years ago. One of his colleagues stopped a car for speeding. Princess Anne was at the wheel and her first response was “do you know who I am?”
Many in RF don’t think rules apply to them.

Does anyone believe that we will ever learn the truth about this accident? It will be kept under wraps I guess, but perhaps I am a cynic!!!""

Just heard, the county council are now going to install speed cameras on that stretch of road. Some coincidence, eh?

A friend's husband has had to give up driving for medical reasons and misses it dreadfully. The D of E is very fortunate that he has acres of private land to drive on should he wish. Not sure I'd want to be in the car with him though.

Gosh, what a coincidence- so many people posting on here witnessed the accident and know exactly what happened!
The consensus appears to be that once you’ve had an accident you have to stop driving? That should make the roads safer anyway!
Seriously, was anyone there and has the facts of what happened? Does anyone know PP well enough to judge his mental and physical abilities?
Apparently there have been numerous accidents at this particular black spot- have all those involved been stopped from driving?
What age should you be stopped from driving? 69, 70, 71? 89, 90, 91? Is there a common age where your faculties and physical abilities suddenly decline?

People of all ages have accidents. This is just ageist.

I think he is too old to drive but to be fair from the news this morning it seems the other driver was speeding. There was already a meeting planned for this afternoon to reduce the speed limit on the road he was joining.

A lot of people should not be driving. I watch my 86 year old neighbour struggling to get on the road and feel she must be a danger to others. The 18 year old daughter of a friend had to take her test ten times before passing.

For a while now I've wondered whether the DofE has dementia. That would account for his absence from public duties and possibly giving his staff the slip and driving off without anyone's knowledge.
My late father aged 90 boasted that he regularly drove at 90 mph and was stopped twice by police for speeding!!

Will this be in episode 99 of "the Crown" ?

Gransnet judge and jury. The verdict seems to depend on your personal feelings about the royal family. This begs the question ‘can a jury ever be truly impartial?’

I'm sorry but we don't know who was to blame for this.
Why don't we wait till we have some facts about it. He was breathalised at the scene so was treated like any other driver in that respect.

Also, re his age... my mother in law at 94 is a good driver. I don't have any problem being driven by her. Yet I have had a good friend who has always been unsafe - so much so that when my children were small I drove hundreds of miles over the years so that he didn't have them in the car with him. At his funeral recently, his son said wryly "at least the roads will be safer now"! He was certainly a terrible driver - but a lovely person.

I have no idea what Prince Philip's driving is like.

the property is not his Mawbroon.

Latest online update:

Barrister Roy Warne pulled Prince Philip, 97, from the wreckage of his Land Rover (main picture) and said the royal told officers he had been 'dazzled by the sun' before the collision near the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk at 2.45pm yesterday (inset). The Kia that ploughed into him on the 60mph road (right) was carrying a ten-month-old baby, its mother, 28, and another woman, 45, who suffered a broken arm and an injured knee, but the child was unhurt. Norfolk Police told MailOnline today they are treating it like any other road traffic collision, meaning they are likely to question the Duke once he is recovered. A force spokesman said: 'The incident will be investigated and any appropriate action taken'. If Philip was at fault he could be prosecuted for driving without due care and attention - but could avoid court by surrendering his licence, 'Mr Loophole' Nick Freeman has said. Prince Charles said recently he was 'always worried' about his father's determination to keep driving and royal expert Ingrid Seward said today the Queen will be 'very annoyed' with her husband. The crash also raises major security questions after it emerged there was no royal protection officer in the car with Prince Philip. Mr Warne, 75, was driving home from hospital with his wife Victoria, 72, who had just been given the all clear from breast cancer, when he saw the Duke's car 'tumbling across the road'. He helped free the 'conscious' but 'very shaken and shocked' royal through the 4x4's sunroof as the Duke shouted: 'My legs! Where should I put my legs?' Mr Warne said: 'He [Philip] wasn't rude. He was very shaken and he went and asked: "Is everyone else alright?".'

It seems Prince Charles has been worried about his driving for a while.

I believe a couple and a baby were in the other car and one of the adults has a broken arm. I agree 97 is far too old to be on a public road he should only drive within his own grounds.
What concerns me is the fact Prince Philip left the scene before paramedics arrived - why?
Was he not concerned about the other people involved in the incident?

My SIL was injured and permanently disabled by an elderly driver who lost control in a car park. Prince Philip is amazingly lucky that no one was seriously hurt.

No....no. At age 97 it is fair to assume that you are going to pop your clogs in the not too distant future. Before I am shot down, I accept that this can happen any time. Should this happen whilst driving, and it can, think of the consequences.... other people killed. I rest my case.

^What concerns me is the fact Prince Philip left the scene before paramedics arrived - why?
Was he not concerned about the other people involved in the incident?^

melp I don't think he did leave. The chap who helped him out of the wrecked car says "he went and asked "Is everyone else alright?"
He had no way of leaving the scene as he didn't walk home, so someone official must have come for him.

I’m sure there are many people who drive safely in their nineties. Driving is such an important part of any person’s life.
However, I believe that people should be assessed/tested regularly over 85. After an incident such as this, if the OP is found to be at fault, either their licence should be withdrawn or they should be tested before they are allowed to drive again.
I find it astounding that the media keep talking about the health of Prince Philip following the crash. Personally, I am much more interested in the health of a nine month old baby and his/ her young mother, at risk of losing their young lives, potentially due to the negligence of a very senior person.

He didn't drive into anyone - he pulled out of a side road (blinded by the sun) and they drove into him. They must have been travelling some to flip his landrover over. His first question when out of the car was apparently to ask after the other driver and their passengers. I suspect he may voluntarily stop driving after this.

There's another map of the scene online today that shows Philip was travelling from Sandringham and not towards it. If that's true then he may well have been dazzled by the sun.

It's all a bit a**e about face.

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.