Should wrinkly old people be forced to retake their driving exams?

Mr Pigeon

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I just read this and, I'm sorry but, it made me furious.

A 91-year-old woman with dementia who killed a toddler should not have been allowed to drive, an inquiry has ruled.

Edith Duncan's Kia veered off Morningside Road in Edinburgh, hitting three-year-old Xander Irvine and his mother Victoria before crashing into a shop in June 2020.

A fatal accident inquiry (FAI) said Mrs Duncan, who was charged over the crash and died in May 2021, had "significantly impaired cognitive ability" as a result of her illness and was unfit to drive or hold a driving licence.
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx252v6l60lo

She died a year later, presumably from being old and suffering from dementia. But not before she killed a little kid.
 
Beep boop beep! Loophole detected! Ancient feckers can just use botox and facelift to circumvent this rule. The topic says "wrinkly old", not just "old".

But yes.
 
Yes.

It should be a pre-requisite anyway to retake every 'X' years, and for that to reduce (at a reduced cost) as you get older. All of the media, as per usual, is aiming it's ire at young drivers, whilst ignoring people who, naturally, have worsening reaction times.
 
Yes, but also every other driver. Regular checkrides and medical checks for everybody, at increased frequency for very new and very old drivers. Severely impacting medical conditions like dementia should lead to a temporary or full revocation of the driver's license, depending on the type of condition.
 
Everyone over the age of 70 should have to. Every year. They've nothing better to do anyway.
 
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https://www.gov.uk/government/stati...n-great-britain-younger-driver-factsheet-2022
 
In the UK, you have to make a health declaration once you reach 70 as every driving license in the UK expires when you're 70. This has to be done every 3 years and if there is an issue, the DVLA can speak to your GP and or force you to have your driving ability assessed. Dementia is one of the health conditions that has to be declared by law, along with diabetes, Parkinsons, loss of sight epilepsy and other conditions that can affect your driving. In this case if she was 91 she must have just had been through the declaration around her 91st birthday, so either she lied about the dementia or the DVLA/GP failed to assess her properly.
 
Some old people are doddery frail feckers, and yet some are fit as a fiddle. As a kid, 60 year olds were seen as decrepit old bastards ready for the scrap heap, and yet my parents are both in their 70's and fit as fiddles. My mum has a driving licence but stopped when she got cancer, after beating it and having not drove for ages, she hasn't driven since. My dad has been driving for 50 years without a single accident.
 
711 said:
Looks as if the over 70s are not as safe, and less so but significantly the under 25s. I suggest both groups have re-tests and possibly conditions such as limits on carrying passengers and engine size.

Might make a few more people favour spending on public transport, I'm all for it. Even though I'm about to turn 70.
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Yep. We really should be making public transport the most ideal option.
 
I think that someone who has been diagnosed with dementia should be disqualified from driving without need of another test.
As for ages that are unsafe to drive a car I think that statistics show that people under the age of 25 are more likely to be involved in RTA's than people of any other age. Should we ban them as well?
 
The Boy said:
In the UK, you have to make a health declaration once you reach 70 as every driving license in the UK expires when you're 70. This has to be done every 3 years and if there is an issue, the DVLA can speak to your GP and or force you to have your driving ability assessed. Dementia is one of the health conditions that has to be declared by law, along with diabetes, Parkinsons, loss of sight epilepsy and other conditions that can affect your driving. In this case if she was 91 she must have just had been through the declaration around her 91st birthday, so either she lied about the dementia or the DVLA/GP failed to assess her properly.
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Or forgot? :angel:
 
I reckon if everyone was made to do a test tomorrow, the economy would shit the bed as we’d have barely anybody qualified to move shit around
 
G3079 said:
Yes, but also every other driver. Regular checkrides and medical checks for everybody, at increased frequency for very new and very old drivers. Severely impacting medical conditions like dementia should lead to a temporary or full revocation of the driver's license, depending on the type of condition.
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This sounds very sensible, which sadly is why I think it’ll never happen.
 
I'm all for requiring this by means of track time with an obstacle course and then turning it into a TV show. Would make for good entertainment. Call it Drive Another Day or something.
 
Plant0x84 said:
Fair enough. I do think this is on the individual though. You’d think at that age they would be responsible enough to report their health Issues to the dvla in between renewals, and to not drive unless they absolutely feel up to it.
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Some are that responsible, many absolutely aren't from my own experience. Many do not want to see that they are too severely hampered by their health, some just don't notice as it often only gets gradually worse and they don't know when they cross the threshold, and their GP does not tell them. And then there are those who full well know they should not be driving anymore, but still do so. In some parts due to pure ego, but often because they do not want to lose their last bit of independence. Wiithout a car, many would find it very hard to impossible to visit their friends, go to meetups, shop or visit their doctors. Especially in rural areas where the public transport is dire, losing their car means they are stuck at home for almost the entire time.

Relying on people to be responsible and make the right decision is generally a terrible idea, no matter the age group. Just look at the recent epidemic.
Parma Dewol said:
This sounds very sensible, which sadly is why I think it’ll never happen.
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Of course not, no party will dare even consider this as it would mean sacrificing the votes of both age ends of the voter spectrum.
 
Redplane said:
I'm all for requiring this by means of track time with an obstacle course and then turning it into a TV show. Would make for good entertainment. Call it Drive Another Day or something.
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This could be the next big streaming hit. Get some Pensioners to play some intense Gran Turismo or World Rally Championship on a 4D simulator system.

This would be a good way to see if they have the necessary "response times" to keep their Licenses.

Fit and active octogenarians can then do celebratory donuts or J turns in the Tesco car park.
 
One of the problems with America is that the automobile and oil industry shaped how we built our communities so that you have to have a motor vehicle to go to the store, the doctor, etc... It makes it really hard for people who suddenly lose their ability to drive.
That's a different issue though. Yes, we should have to pass a physical and mental competency test to drive every few years. Granted, you can be 90 years old, senile, and blind and still legally buy a gun in this country.
 
One of the problems is older drivers choosing automatics. It's much easier to shoot forward in an automatic because of a pedal mistake. In a manual, the car would stall.
 
Penna said:
One of the problems is older drivers choosing automatics. It's much easier to shoot forward in an automatic because of a pedal mistake. In a manual, the car would stall.
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I think that's true, but over three quarters of cars sold now are automatics anyway, and apparently more new drivers are taking automatic-only tests, there's not a lot of point learning manual. now.
 
MarylandMUFan said:
One of the problems with America is that the automobile and oil industry shaped how we built our communities so that you have to have a motor vehicle to go to the store, the doctor, etc... It makes it really hard for people who suddenly lose their ability to drive.
That's a different issue though. Yes, we should have to pass a physical and mental competency test to drive every few years. Granted, you can be 90 years old, senile, and blind and still legally buy a gun in this country.
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Zoning laws are what shaped the way the suburbs and cities are/were built more than anything else, and those laws are still in place for the most part

At least in the US you need to renew your license every few years which involves at least some basic checks, not sure how this done in all States but in MO there's a vision test and a basic road signs test
 
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Red in STL said:
Zoning laws are what shaped the way the suburbs and cities are/were built more than anything else, and those laws are still in place for the most part

At least in the US you need to renew your license every few years which involves at least some basic checks, not sure how this done in all States but in MO there's a vision test and a basic road signs test
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True, but the automotive industry has done a lot to influence the zoning laws:
https://www.fastcompany.com/90781961/how-automakers-insidiously-shaped-our-cities-for-cars
"“We’ve designed car dependency into our cities quite deliberately, and car companies have influenced that,” says Brent Toderian, a city planner, Vancouver’s former planning director, and a vocal critic of Hyundai’s vision. For as long as auto companies have existed, they have perpetuated one thing above all else: car dependency."
 
I don't think old people should drive at all. So many other options are available these days.
 
Redplane said:
Or urban. Only a handful of cities have halfway decent public transit in the city proper. DC, NYC and Chicago may be the only ones.
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Boston has the T, San Francisco has BART, St Louis has a metro based on Manchester's but only 2 lines but that's all I can think of
 
Red in STL said:
Boston has the T, San Francisco has BART, St Louis has a metro based on Manchester's but only 2 lines but that's all I can think of
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Boston is the only one of those 3 which may be a fair one to include but the other two id argue are still woefully lacking. Especially StL doesn't even really deserve a mention IMHO. Only good thing is that it has an airport connection.
 
Stack said:
At what age do you think the cut off should be?
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Ok I'm gonna backtrack on my post a little. Based it on where I live. Elders get a fair discount on taxies and such. I hope it won't be too many years before self-driving cars can do the job.

I can see how in bigger countries there'll be issues.

But to answer your question, whatever the retirement age is around the world.
 
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