Older drivers. Should we take a test at 75?

My dear friend was killed outright walking on pavement to collect DGD . She was mown down by a woman who failed to declare her diagnosis of MS when completing her health declaration at 70. Apparently her foot slipped onto the accelerator and she mounted the pavement. It should not be a self declaration, but an assessment by a professional who has access to medical records and the ability to carry out a cognitive test . Unfortunately where do we find these people in our already overwhelmed health system.

I would love to take a test and have my mistakes pointed out so I could become a safer driver in the modern world. Things have changed since ceI passed my test 55 years ago.

I remember being horrified a few years ago when a friend told me his mum was still driving even though she had glaucoma.

No, I don’t think that drivers aged 75 need take another test.
What I think is that eye tests should be mandatory with any worries about near blindness being reported to DVLA by the optician.
I don’t think there’s a sort of cut off point age wise as all are so different.Some are dangerous drivers at 25 and some 95.
Remember that most accidents aren’t caused by old people.
The case in question about the elderly driver crashing and causing the death of a child is awful but how many children are killed by the dangerous driving of younger people?

kittylester

I would love to take a test and have my mistakes pointed out so I could become a safer driver in the modern world. Things have changed since ceI passed my test 55 years ago.

How could you be safer? What are you worried about doing and in what way have things changed?
There’s far more traffic on the roads and far more inconsiderate drivers around, but you can’t change that.Think of all the driving experience you have that younger people don’t have.
We were taught mirror, signal, manoeuvre but I encounter so many younger drivers who just don’t bother with that, they just go for it and rarely even signal.
Generally speaking I think older drivers are miles safer than anyone else.

I agree with you, Oreo. Most accidents are caused by younger people but there does need to be more control over eyesight and medical conditions that affect driving ability - at any age.

The roads are certainly busier than when I passed my test and DH and I plan our journeys accordingly to avoid the worst of the traffic. It also seems to us that driving manners are worse in the south - DH calls it "put your foot down and go" - than in the north where people don't seem to be in such a hurry and traffic is less frantic.

The roads are busier and different. I passed my test in 1967 in London when I was 18.
My driving instructor took me made me drive round Trafalgar Square, Marble Arch and on the Hammersmith Flyover which was dual carriageway! I passed first time.

I wouldn't want to drive in London now.

The last time I did, about 20 years ago, I felt other drivers were impatient and driving was no pleasure at all and that applies to all our cities.

Why don't people have eye tests? They're free, for goodness sake!

DH is 78 and I believe has never exceeded a speed limit. He once misjudged the position of the garage door when reversing the car and bent it a little, but apart from that has never had an accident. He has towed our caravan all over Europe and the UK for nearly 40 years, with outstanding confidence and care. I used to wonder about his ability to react in an emergency until such an occasion occurred about three years ago and his reactions saved our lives and that of the (young) idiot who turned in front of us with no signal or attempt at slowing down.

He isn't very good at reversing these days, takes his time, but is totally safe.

We both have 2-yearly eye tests.

At age 70 he completed the DVLA form and reported that he drank about 20 units a week of alcohol. That said, in the past 40 years he has NEVER EVER driven after having even one drink earlier in the day but since we retired has only driven 2-3 times a week, usually in the daytime. However, this triggered a major rigmarole of medical questions resulting in a refusal to renew his licence until he had had blood tests. For what, we were never told. First of all it took months to be given a list of private doctors who would perform the blood tests - none of them less than 20 miles away, all part-time and with no appointments for months. In fact about half of them had ceased offering the service. Eventually he had the test (costing us £150) and told it could take up to a year to get the results. Meanwhile he could continue to drive. The results came back negative of course, but what a waste of time (and worry and money).

We live in a country village. Taxis are non-existent and public transport is a laugh. We live at the top of a steep hill which neither of us can manage uphill. Being without a car would mean no social life at all as well as problems with shopping, doctors etc. We would have to move without a car.

Of course we would never drive if we considered ourselves to be unsafe.

There are some drivers who have never experienced a motorway, or a single file road, or an emergency stop and I suggest that they are the ones more likely to be a danger on the roads.

We are all different.

grannysyb

Why don't people have eye tests? They're free, for goodness sake!

Becasuse they are a fraid they will be told that they are no longer safe to drive. Its called 'head in the sand syndrome'

Yes, traffic was quieter when most of us passed the test, but if we have been driving regularly since we should gradually have adapted to new driving conditions. It is what we have done in other areas of life.

When I started working my office contained a large hand cranked adding machine. now my hands twinkle over my computer. Anyone whose job required typing had a big old manual typewriter, now they use computers - thats life!

I have made sure that I drive regularly and on all kinds of roads, so I am quite happy driving on all kinds of roads in all kinds of conditions. I have regular eye tests and know my eyesight, with glasses is up to scratch. I always wear my glasses when driving. I have recently done extensive cognition tests and did not score a single point, which means that mentally I am still on the ball.

I am concerned by the number of people who have commented that they have no public transport and NEED to drive to the doctor’s, vets, etc, or to visit family and cannot afford taxis.
What are you going to do if/ when you are no longer able to drive for whatever reason?

Cabbie21

I am concerned by the number of people who have commented that they have no public transport and NEED to drive to the doctor’s, vets, etc, or to visit family and cannot afford taxis.
What are you going to do if/ when you are no longer able to drive for whatever reason?

Well, not many people live in a town with most services nearby and with good public transport so I guess it applies to an awful lot of us. As I’ve mentioned before we had, in our village a doctors and a post office/general store and a garage.All now gone. Losing the post office/shop was a huge blow to the village. We are luckier than most in that we have a good bus service but that’s only because we’re en route to an airport; if we weren’t we probably wouldn’t have a bus service at all. At least there is a prescription delivery service. However, I spoke to a pharmacist in a local chemist today who said pharmacies are closing down everywhere because the previous government kept giving them more and more responsibilities for no extra money ( she said they lose £1 on every prescription they do). Everything seems to be so short sighted. Quite often cutting back funds to save money just costs more in the long term. Our village post office dealt with more parcels than the main post office in the nearby town but it’s now a coffee shop. I just hope our free bus passes are never removed because that would really create a problem.

MOnica and I have both recommended ways of taking an assessment. These are advisory only and you will not be banned from driving if considered not up to standard.
I found it very instructive and would happily take another in another 5 years.

It would be ideal to sit some sort of test as we get older but my son can't even get a date for an ordinary driving test, currently just wouldn't be possible 😕

I was struck by that too Cabbie.
TV programmes such as Escape to the Country are irresponsible in my opinion by concentrating on the beauty and peace of an area but glossing over the lack of transport.

It's different if you are a farmer with family all around to look after your needs or in a self sufficient village but it's worrying to think of isolated ageing communities with no buses.

I live in Ontario Canada and once you reach 80 it is impossible to renew your driving licence without first taking a ‘classroom’ test to assess cognitive skills and vision. You are advised of this requirement by mail a month before your licence expires that is sent to your home address together with the appropriate forms to make an appointment to take the pre required tests. If you pass both tests, then results are reported and it becomes a straightforward process to renew the driving licence on line. From the age of 80 it’s a requirement (by law) to take the test every two years from then onwards.

If you fail the test, you are required to have a full eye test with your optician and also received written confirmation from your GP stating the level of cognitive skills meet the requirement levels set by the Province.

Here in Ontario a GP and/or a licensed optician has the authority to deny an elderly driver a current licence by reporting their decision to the appropriate ministry based on test results their patient is unsafe to be driving.

Even as an elderly driver myself I believe in this approach.

Grammaretto

I was struck by that too Cabbie.
TV programmes such as Escape to the Country are irresponsible in my opinion by concentrating on the beauty and peace of an area but glossing over the lack of transport.

It's different if you are a farmer with family all around to look after your needs or in a self sufficient village but it's worrying to think of isolated ageing communities with no buses.

Dad was a farmer, and at 70 he asked us to help fill in his driving licence application.!
Hang on dad how bad is your eyesight?, we knew his driving was poor but he had macular degeneration and was a blind as a bat - so it was a bike after that.

Seriously, poor eyesight is very dangerous, recently an elderly driver pulled out of a junction not seeing a motorbike, killed the rider, in my opinion at least eyesight tests should be compulsory over a certain age

I think if it works for Ontario, it would work for us and is the kind of thing I think will be quicker and cheaper than resitting the test. There are people in their 90s who are safe to drive and people in their 60s who aren't.

Seriously, poor eyesight is very dangerous, recently an elderly driver pulled out of a junction not seeing a motorbike, killed the rider,

Was it proven that it was an eyesight problem? Motorcyclists often drive at well over the speed limit and appear from nowhere. My sister was knocked off her bike and killed at a junction by a lorry driven by a man in his early 50s. I won't go into all the details, but quite simply, even in a city, a combination of trees and parked vehicles meant that he couldn't see her cycling down the road.

Every accident involving an older driver is not necessarily the older driver's fault. Since I was 60, I am now 80, I have been involved in three accidents, none led to injury, but in one my car was written off. In each case I was unequivocally not at fault.

On the last occasion the insurance company claims rep was telling me it was a 'no fault' accident before I had fully reported it. I was on a main road and someone came out of a side road and drove into the side of my car, claiming he didn't see me coming. He was about 25 and it was broad daylight and I was on road, straight for about a mile in each direction.

Those saying that they can't afford taxis. You'd have money from the sale of the car, insurance, tax, maintenance, parking and petrol money too.

My mother-in-law moved from a village to the edge of a town specifically to be able to manage without a car should that be necessary. She was quite pragmatic about it. "I don't want to be stranded with nothing but a view" she said.

If only we could all look to the future like this, Grammaretto.

Now she is unable to drive - but can walk to a chemist, a supermarket a whole range if shops and a beautiful park (without even going onto a road, only footpaths) ... she says she should have moved sooner. She was about 85 when she left her village.

I hope I will grasp the nettle... I look to her continued independence at 100 for inspiration!

I have no bus service, even to nearest town without a car I'd be very isolated. I do feel more testing would be good but should include all ages. It's kind of like the M.O.T., pass on the day but can fail the next day. There are more incidents major and minor involving much younger drivers than those of older years. Black boxes don't register wreckless, careless driving, only speeds. No words to describe the Edinburgh event.

Chestnut

twinnytwin

This is a thorny issue. Will we all be expected to pay for these extra tests? It's expensive to pay for the vehicle, road tax, insurance, vehicle upkeep etc already. We live in a village with a very unreliable bus service (once an hour but sometimes it can be 40 minutes late or doesn't turn up at all) that stops early evening. Doctor, hospital, dental, optician and hair appointments would be impossible to plan due to the irregularity of the bus service. A taxi is £10 each way for a three mile trip. The train station isn't on a bus route.
A visit to our two children and their families would be almost two hours by bus to one and a train and taxi to Bristol for the other. There are no shops in the village so an online shop will be necessary and our weekly meet up with friends and family in the pub will be curtailed.
When we'd persuaded my father to stop driving I used to travel 18 miles each way to take him to his appointments. I was over 65 years myself then.
When it becomes necessary for both of us to stop driving we will, but our quality of life will certainly change for the worse.

Unfortunately this is why older people should retire in or around a town or city with easy access to medical care. It might be a lovely dream to retire to a village but transport will be difficult as you get older. I am right next to several buses going to the town centre and a 10 min taxi ride to doctor, dentist and hospital. I planned all this when I moved here.

That's well and good, my friend hs a bus stop right outside her door. I bought a house near my work so I could walk, unless on nights, didso. Promise of regular bus service never materialised,nearest stop 20 minutes walk, not able to do so etimes. Can't afford to sell and move, even in my area house prices have gone up a lot. So left on an estate with no forward planning executed, although now have a shop for essentials, we waited 20 years for that .So I'm stuck,have to use my car, or a very ,nowadays, expensive Taxi.

To those who say younger drivers are the problem, yes, they may be, but older drivers are a problem too and we just have to accept it.

If we can find a way to mitigate, we should.

We are in the process of selling our house in a well serviced large village: buses, large Co-op self service, railway station on bus route a couple of miles away, partly to be nearer children, but also to the centre of a town where all facilities are within walking/buggy distance, including social activities - the one thing our village is deficient in.

We chose the town with great care. It has a mainline station, a hospital in easy reach and everything else, doctors, dentists, supermarket etc in the town centre, also groups and activities that interest us.