Should there be a driving test and a cut off age?

Try this www.olderdrivers.org.uk/driver-assessment/refresher-driver-training/

Looks great! Needs to be compulsory after a certain age, with no licence if not passed maybe? Every 2 years after the age of 75> perhaps?

My DH is a coach driver and since he turned 50 he has been required to undergo medicals (which we pay for) in order to maintain his professional licence. Off the top of my head it’s every 5 years he needs to go and be checked and I think that reduced down to bi-annually from 60.
He’s conscious of the fact that every time he drives that vehicle he’s responsible for the safety of other road users and up to 60 people sat behind him. I don’t think it would be unreasonable to expect “normal” drivers to have to do this too as they age. Perhaps not starting at 50, but given the damage that can be done by a driver stubbornly holding a licence and using a vehicle when they really aren’t fit to then I do think it’s reasonable to have a system in place to safeguard.

Driving is a privilege - not a right. I am 55 and I would happily be tested every few years - even if this was a full driving test.
By the time my FIL stopped driving he'd had three minor crashes in about a year. He was about 78 then and realised that he was no longer safe behind the wheel.

I also think it depends on the type of area where you live. eg I loved driving when we were in a rural area, very light traffic, it was a pleasure.
But now in a busy town it's a nightmare.
I'm now 84 and have been driving since 26 but hung up my car keys over a year ago, after a near-miss accident due to my knee problem.
Such a relief. I don't miss it at all.
So with the sad story in the OP, I agree there should be stricter limits on driving - in urban areas - here for elderly people.
Backed up by better public transport, which we have here.

sodapop

This crops up when there is an accident involving an older driver. As someone else said there are far more accidents involving younger drivers.
However this does not excuse older people from ensuring they are ft and able to drive on today's busy roads. I read about adult children who are concerned about their parent's driving ability but are afraid to say anything. I think if we know people who are not safe drivers then we should take steps to stop them whatever that may entail.

It really isn't that easy. My sister and I hesitated for longer than we should have done to take my mother's car away. We'd been bullied all our lives by her and she was a "difficult" woman. As it was, she accused us in almost every conversation until her death of taking her "freedom" away.

Not a cut off age but there should be an eyesight test periodically, doctors advice not to drive should be more enforced than it is at present.

There are obviously medical conditions which mean that you should not drive, but poor eyesight it the most common cause of accidents with the elderly

This crops up when there is an accident involving an older driver. As someone else said there are far more accidents involving younger drivers.
However this does not excuse older people from ensuring they are ft and able to drive on today's busy roads. I read about adult children who are concerned about their parent's driving ability but are afraid to say anything. I think if we know people who are not safe drivers then we should take steps to stop them whatever that may entail.

Yes, there should be an age where a more extensive set of tests are mandatory- age 68 or 70?

Furthermore, certain medical conditions should trigger further testing as well, disregarding the age of the driver.

This accident was completely preventable. Vanity and ego are not good enough reasons to ignore and deny your skill level is no longer there and you cannot do what you used to do

Try this www.olderdrivers.org.uk/driver-assessment/refresher-driver-training/

First of all, I am very sorry to hear that anyone has been killed and condolences to all families. However, why is it the insurance companies charge higher to people of a certain age because they are more liable to have accidents. Moreover, I know of a young lad (18) who, the day he passed his driving test knocked into a person on a motorbike, while doing a right turn. The police told him that he should start driving again as soon as he got over the shock, would they have said that to me?

I booked an assessment from (I think) ROSPA - google it) when I was 80 which was really helpful. She pointed out the little bad habits I'd picked up and gave a lot of tips on making sure I was alert and aware all the time.
Also she took me through the Highway Code and pointed out changes since I took my test at 17.
I am now much more aware and hopefully a better driver. I think a test or assessment at age 70 and 80 should become compulsory. My assessment was free, but I would gladly pay for another, I didn't feel I was being criticised and she pointed out my problems very pleasantly and showed me how to correct them.
I live in a remote area where there are no busses so without my car I would have to rely on taxis - economically impossible

...... hmm, though when you consider the costs of running a car ............. perhaps - when I'm 90?

The lockdown has scared so many off public transport. Let's all hope that's not a permanent setback for all our sakes.

That's terrible Grammaretto in fact wasn't there a recent case of an elderly couple driving the wrong way down a motorway, they were both killed, unfortunately I think the person they collided with was as well

TerriBull I am reminded now of a woman I once knew who was fraitfully upper class who drove fast and erratically for far too long and didn't relinquish her licence until well into her 90s when it was taken from her after she was seen on CCTV on a sliproad to the motorway in the wrong direction.

She had probably been driving since she was an ambulance driver in WW2 and she was a skilled young thing. There were far fewer cars then.

meant elderly woman neighbour, she didn't actually live in our house.

re. my previous post, of course how awful for the parents, I thought I conveyed that when I said how awful! and then added awful to have that on your conscience, to have taken a life of a young child in a selfish and unnecessary manner, all because the driver couldn't or wouldn't come to terms with the fact that they were no longer proficient behind the wheel anymore.

There have been occasions in car parks observing some older drivers who are very heavy on the pedals and it flashes through the mind, it's possible that car could lurch forward quite uncontrollably.

At our last house we had an elderly woman who often reversed into walls or fences, she was quite a worry!

Difficult as peoples health does vary but if you have nothing to hide then why fear this . Perhaps 75 is reasonable as it would also support relatives too as I risked loosing contact with my Dad when he refused to give up driving aged 86 and very frail . GP wouldn't get involved.

Elaine1 That must have been particularly poignant ((hugs))
our DD was also very distressed when she heard.
I still shudder when I remember the day a 5 yr old was run over and killed as he dashed across the road outside my DC school. This has at least helped to introduce traffic calming, especially outside schools.

But the more I read on here, the more I think there should be a cut off age across the board.

Ofcourse some people will think this grossly unfair. Maybe at the other end, we should raise the age when you can get a licence.
In NZ, where DS lives, you can apply at age 16 but until 2011 it was legal to drive there at 15 and I can remember seeing what looked like children behind the wheel of an oncoming car. Terrifying.
The reason behind it was that in rural areas and on farms, there was no other mode of transport.

I think every one should have to be retested throughout their life at varying intervals in order that their driving licence is renewed- maybe not necessarily on the road but on some sort of simulator. After all, lots of us have to repeat refresher courses at work in health and safety etc. at regular intervals, so why should we be allowed to operate a piece of dangerous machinery just because we passed a test when we were 17!

Also, there should be refresher tests of knowledge of the highway code. If anyone fails any of the above mentioned, then they would be required to book a series of driving lessons before their licence is returned. If people are intending to drive abroad, there should also be a test of their knowledge of that countries' highway code before they are allowed to hire a car.

‘I read about the little boy, how awful, and to have that on your conscience in the last years of life sad’

How awful for the parents to have to live with his death for the rest of their lives. She made a choice, they did not.

There is no definitive research on age and RTAs but there is plenty of evidence that links increasing age and frailty, various medical conditions and their concomitant medication and effects on driving etc. Plus younger drivers who are not honest about medical conditions. I still see no argument for not having proper independent medical over a certain age and for doctors to have a mandatory duty to report all patients over 17 to DVLA who have conditions that potentially affect driving ability.

I agree with much of grandad's post, particularly the first two paragraphs, the state of one's health is of course crucial and as we age there can be a huge disparity between those who are still physically fit and their reactions and awareness still up to scratch. It's fair to say that young, males particularly, can be a lot more reckless.

My late parents both gave up driving before they died, my father in his late 70s who had type 1 diabetes and increasingly suffered hypos, decided he wasn't as safe as he should be at that stage. My mother, never that keen on driving in the first place, took taxis on her short journeys or more often than not got a lift from friends after he died.

My father in law took my mother in law's car away when he rightly felt she was becoming a danger due to the onset of dementia, frequently getting lost. He drove into his early nineties but also gave up for the last couple of years of his life.

I'd like to think I'd do the right thing if I become really old and my reactions became impaired.

I read about the little boy, how awful, and to have that on your conscience in the last years of life

Yes driving should be reviewed Certainly by the age of 80.
This could have been an aunt of ours.The final straw in a series of driving mishaps was when she mounted a pavement and narrowly missed hitting a pedestrian.She drove on oblivious but DH was told and had a discreet word with her GP,who called her in for review if medication but then got her to confess she was losing sensation in her feet.At 89 she had just bought a new car -we were all horrified as she'd already demolished part of a wall exiting her drive and other countless smaller bumps.
Within weeks she was using the money she would have spent on fuel insurance and tax on a local taxi account and loving it.And admitting she had driven on far too long.Obviously that's an issue for those living in more remote or rural areas.

But if you're an excellent driver you'd pass the test, so it wouldn't be a problem.

As for paying, if you can afford to run a car you can afford a test fee. Your insurance would probably get reduced anyway.

I’d be interested in seeing statistics that relate to hitting pedestrians rather than the generic ‘involved in road crashes’.

It might be because the media jump on situations where an elderly driver is concerned but there do seem to be more incidents of mounting pavements, failing to stop at pedestrian crossings or reversing over people in the elderly.