Unsafe to drive?

If you feel that anyone you know, family or friend is unfit to drive then take the registration number and report it to the police with your reasons. It's done in confidence and no one need know that it's you who's made the complaint.

Re Macular degeneration and driving, my mother who is 89 still drives, and is currently receiving treatment for this condition. On phoning the DVLA she was told that if she felt OK to drive then carry on. She has never been asked for proof of fitness to drive and last year her licence was renewed ahead of her 89th birthday with no request for information about her current medical status or any other check.
Whilst she restricts herself to very local journeys this is no guarantee of safety - we live on a very busy 50mph road - a limit which few observe, and whilst she remains spry and alert, her judgement can be faulty - like the rest of us!
The DVLA seems happy to ignore the need for testing, and there must be thousands who, like my mother, are approaching their 90th year, but, unlike her, do not recognise their own limitations behind the wheel of a car.

Thank you everyone who contributed.It is clearly an emotive subject. I think my issue is now resolved, thankfully without confrontation.

In France you have the small under-powered vehicles which are described as 'san permis' because you need neither a driving license or insurance to drive them. They are an absolute menace. Driven almost invariable by the very elderly who do not have driving licenses. On hills, and the land is quite lumpy in the region where our house is, they slow down to walking speed and get up to a slow sprint going down hill

But, I hasten to add, no worse than the the mobility scooters we get in the UK. Not the ordinary day to day ones, a reasonable size and convenient for getting up and down shopping aisles, but those giant ones, the 4 x 4s of the MS market, almost always driven by men and usually having to go on the road rather than the footpath. On the road they are impossible to overtake and on the pavement they sweep, everybody else on the foot path into the road; other older people, mothers with pushchairs, anybody who dares to get in their way.

Quite a lot of older people drive odd little cars which maybe have less powerful engines, but not allowed on main roads - maybe that's an idea for the future.
Mind you, some of those in the little cars are drinkers, lost their car license.

Actually Alea 85 is a guess, going from the obituaries I read in the local paper. Every time there's at least one over 100, and most of the rest in the'r 80s and 90s.
But I do know for a fact that people live for longer in our Dept. (Gers) than in any other part of France. It's the most sparsely populated too.

I am surprised the life expectancy is as high as it is then!

I know I'm not a one to criticise older drivers, but if you want to see many examples you should come to one of our country market towns. Mornings.
In France a license is for "life", not medicals at 70 etc though they want to introduce it.
Driving is essential here, as there's no public transport, most live in isolated villages, and the average life expectancy is about 85. Many live alone.
I saw one elderly man who had one eye patched over, very unsteady on his feet, get into his battered old car and drive off.
The big difference here is that the roads are fairly quiet, apart from some huge lorries and ag. vehicles.

It costs £49

iamroadsmart.com/courses/mature-driver-assessment

The IAM offer an independent mature drivers' assessment if anyone is concerned about their abilities. Worthwhile exercise I think.

I agree Monica. I have had eye surgery too and although my optician said I could drive without glasses, I don't feel comfortable doing do and always wear my bifocals if I'm driving.
It all comes down to individual responsibility, but that doesn't mean that the law shouldn't come down hard on those who, being aware of their own limitations, disregard them and jeopardise not only their own safety but more importantly that of others.

I am/was very short sighted. When I had my cataract operations the surgeon replaced my natural lens with a plastic prescription lens that brought my eyes close to normal sight, but after each operation I had six weeks when I drove with glasses that had a prescription lens on one side and a plain glass lens on the other.

While driving like that my eyesight passed the DVLA test, but was less good than I was used to. As a result I drove less and with care. When I mentioned this to my optician when I was having my post-cataract eye test. He commented that someone who was blind in one eye and had tunnel vision in the other could pass the DVLA eyesight test and legally drive.

As is clear from this thread those on it with eye problems have them known to the DVLA and they are being monitored, but there are many people on the roads with extremely limited vision, who nevertheless can pass the DVLA test and do not have to inform anyone of their limited vision.

I have glaucoma and because of it am issued with a driving licence that is valid for three years only, at every renewal I have to take a field test (which is different to the usual optician field test). So far I have passed with flying colours each time.
I do not feel comfortable driving at night so I don't although legally I could. To me this is no different to someone with normal vision deciding not to drive with a migraine or a bad cold etc. It is not something you can easily legislate about, and you have to rely on people's good sense although that appears to be lacking in some people (not only the old but also drug and alcohol users). Also I avoid busy major roads and only go on an unfamiliar route at times when there is little traffic. I think this makes me a wise and safe driver who knows her own limitations.

When in a hole, the advice is to stop digging. There are so many comments here from people whose driving confidence diminished with age - Charleygirl has her gp's approval to drive. The AMD is irrelevant

When I was once [or twice!] treated harshly by GNers, I was comforted by some GN's who defended me. I hate to see people hurt. Sorry if I've been nosy and interfering.

There is no 'critic' at all- ever. For the sake of clarity and fairness here, I shall repost my intitial reaction, with the relevant and important IF :

I am so so sorry Charleygirl- and I am fully aware that you may be upset with me- but your comment really does worry me. Not driving at night is an easy choice- but if ......
your macular degenaration makes you feel uncomfortable to drive on non-familiar roads- then (edit) truly, really, you should NOT be driving

Sorry, my post crossed with Granjura's

Some hurts run deep Wot and it can be hard to move on from aspersions which undermine one's independence - they can be hard to forget - as we get older, but not interfering, that is between CG and her critic.

Charleygirl I have apologised- and am happy to apologize again, although it will probably not make a difference. Your intial post was not clear at all re:

'I feel as though I have been bullied and patronised by you when medically I have followed the letter of the law.' -

which makes all the difference. My initital response had a big IF in it- that IF you feel your vision is impaired and it makes you nervous to drive on unfamiliar road- then you shouldn't be driving. This is neither patronising, nor bullying. I'll apologise again- but hope that if one day you come to realise your MD is getting worse, you'll know when the time has come. Many people, including my parents, as clearly explained, didn't - same for many others I know or have known in the family, neighbours and friends.

I'm glad you got a lot of support from other Gneters- but I can assure you many have written to me to say they think my comment was not unkind- and that the big IF was clear to them.

I do hope you will continue to drive confidently and safely for a very long time and that your MD doesn't worsen, as it did for my mother. She was a very confident driver- one of the first women to drive in our area and just loved it. She drove to the UK to come and see us a few times, swithching to driving on the left and into London, in her 70s, without any nerves or hesitation. Stopping driving was a huge blow for her- so I am fully aware. Bonne chance.

Each country has their own rules re medical conditions- and my neighbour has been given the official OK. You'll find that in very rural areas, like here- even the authorities and the police do close a blind eye if someone's livelihood is at stake- rightly or wrongly (I'd say wrongly).

Charleygirl, don't you think that you've told Granjura off enough now????

To add to that, there is the widespread acceptance of the Eleventh Commandment - "thou shalt not be found out" , in other words as long as you are not caught .......... but by that time it could be too late.

When DH lost most of his peripheral vision following a stroke, his opthalmology results were borderline so he was told he could appeal, in fact, if we lived in Holland, he would have passed

I saw the results and the amount of 'black' on the chart - showing where he didn't react to a light shone on the screen - worried me so I was relieved when he quickly decided that although borderline, his results meant that nobody would feel safe in a car with him again so he surrendered his licence immediately.

I know how tough it was for him give up something he loved so it makes me angry when others feel it's OK to bend the rules and put others at risk.

My friend's husband has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's and was at first reluctant to contemplate surrendering his licence as my friend doesn't drive and we live in a village. Oddly enough it was becoming a grandfather which made him change his mind and surrender his licence voluntarily . The thought that he might have his grandson in the car was what made him see sense.
DH started having the odd dizzy episode (similar to labyrinthitis, but wasn't) after his heart op 5 years ago and decided immediately that although they had never happened while he was behind the wheel, once could be once too often, so has given up driving ever since.
The thought of an "illegal" lorry driver makes my blood run cold. Do you remember the Glasgow bin-lorry driver who ploughed into a crowd of Christmas shoppers in December 2014 (?) . He claimed he had never blacked out while driving but hid his history of blackouts when he applied for the job. Not just irresponsible, criminal.

I agree Jalima I know somebody who had fits at night and had to be free from fits and on medication for 3 years with constant monitoring afterwards. He had to pay extra for car insurance although he has never had an accident in his life.

He drove while banned and the police knew about it, granjura?