Elderly drivers, should new laws be bought in for them?

[Bob_the_lost]

Nonsense. Read page 4. <<< same pdf link as previous.

They're all per thousand in age band. Proportional rather than absolute. Clearly the number of licence holders will increase through the age brackets.

Interesting numbers but they're not exactly the raw data.

 

[London_Calling]

I know what they are - are you agreeing or disagreeing?

 

[Bob_the_lost]

I'm wondering if the difference is enough to make Garf right.

If there are twice as many people with licenses over the age of 30 than there are 17-20 then they have more accidents in total than the young uns in total. Proportionately young people are more likely to get killed on the roads but in absolute terms they might not be the majority of accidents.

Or in other words your nonsense comment might not have been fair. Not to forget that in all those bands there's going to be substantial numbers of people not driving, especially the old age bands. In contrast nearly all the people 17-20 will be driving, few people learn to drive without access to a car in the future. As such the graph is over representing the danger of young drivers.

 

[Sweaty Betty]

I think so, I've had so many 'near misses' recently that all involved elderley drivers its unreal.

I dont think this should apply to all as most categories of drivers have bad drivers amongst them, but some of the frail old ladies i have seen behind the wheel of a micra is scary, i could bearly see their heads

 

[chymaera]

Insurance companies charge premiums based on actuarial risk.
Under 25s are a VERY high risk based on the number of accidents they have.
Older drivers, (until they get very old) are low risk. This accounts for why my hooligan 600cc motorcycle which will outdrag most supercars up to 60mph only costs me £90 a year fully comprehensive insurance.

 

[trashpony]

I dont think this should apply to all as most categories of drivers have bad drivers amongst them, but some of the frail old ladies i have seen behind the wheel of a micra is scary, i could bearly see their heads

Younger drivers are statistically more dangerous. Perhaps we should ban all the whippersnappers from driving until they're 30?

 

[1927]

I think so, I've had so many 'near misses' recently that all involved elderley drivers its unreal.

Every one of those near misses involved you tho! How old are you? Good job those elderly drivers were good enough to get out of the way of you in time!

 

[1927]

Younger drivers are statistically more dangerous. Perhaps we should ban all the whippersnappers from driving until they're 30?

Easiest way imho to reduce the accident rate of young and inexperinced drivers would be to make it law that noone could drive a car over 1100cc until they were atleast 21 and had been driving for atleast 3years. this would stop 17 yo passing their test and jumping in a powerful car straight away.

I'd also bring in an extra test for anyone wanting to drive a car over a certain bhp, or atleast make it mandatory to take some extar course in driving a supercar!

 

[Bob_the_lost]

Younger drivers are statistically more dangerous. Perhaps we should ban all the whippersnappers from driving until they're 30?

Are they? According to that younger license holders are, how many of the 70+ age group who hold licences drive on anything like a frequent basis?

 

[Sweaty Betty]

Are they? According to that younger license holders are, how many of the 70+ age group who hold licences drive on anything like a frequent basis?

just sundays innit

 

[scifisam]

In contrast nearly all the people 17-20 will be driving, few people learn to drive without access to a car in the future. As such the graph is over representing the danger of young drivers.

Really? I know loads and loads of people who learnt to drive at that age and then barely drove for years. They just learnt to drive then because their parents were willing to pay for it, or they got given lessons as a birthday present, or they wanted to do it as a rite of passage, just because they were now old enough.

Cars, insurance and running costs are so expensive that I'd be surprised if that many people in that age group had cars.

 

[chymaera]

Are they? According to that younger license holders are, how many of the 70+ age group who hold licences drive on anything like a frequent basis?

My brother is 70+ and he is still working as a coach driver. (He is on a Buckinghamshire to Southern Spain run at the moment.)

 

[Giles]

Easiest way imho to reduce the accident rate of young and inexperinced drivers would be to make it law that noone could drive a car over 1100cc until they were atleast 21 and had been driving for atleast 3years. this would stop 17 yo passing their test and jumping in a powerful car straight away.

I'd also bring in an extra test for anyone wanting to drive a car over a certain bhp, or atleast make it mandatory to take some extar course in driving a supercar!

Waste of time.

Given the cost of insurance for young drivers on even small-engined cars, never mind bigger ones, there are VERY FEW 17 - 20 year olds driving powerful cars. Unless they stole them, or have very rich parents.

And even quite small-engined cars will do 70+ mph, quite fast enough to cause bad accidents.

Most accidents are not caused by super-fast speeds (i.e. people driving at 90mph or more).

Limiting people to 1100cc cars wouldn't stop them losing control on a bend at 50mph and hitting a tree, or going too fast through a town and running over a pedestrian at 40.

Giles..

 

[selamlar]

But what if you have an elderly driver, with passable eyesight, but who is starting to get senile dementia and ends up driving the wrong way up the motorway? Dementia comes and goes in its early stages, so maybe they need to also test them for that as well.

My Grandad did exactly this. Fortunately he got stopped by a police car that was coming up the slip as he was going down it, and never drove again.