90, dying, deaf yet drives
Discussion
This scares me.
90 year old man who occasionally I collect from his home & transport him to a day hospice in a mini-bus. He has limited mobility so together with the obligatory nurse we help him walk him down his drive & just about get him into a bus seat. He is only just about aware of his surroundings & we have to shout in his only working ear to be heard. He proudly likes to remind me he was a long distance lorry driver then a London bus driver. BUT most weeks he drives himself to the hospice, about 2 miles.
It would be grossly insulting, inappropriate & outside the remit of the hospice to say anything so I just hope the police having spotted some driving error stop him & I assume are able to proceed to have his licence revoked. My understanding is that reporting him to the police or DVLA will bring about no action & that he has to have an accident or kill somebody first (before he dies of natural causes himself which is likely within a year).
90 year old man who occasionally I collect from his home & transport him to a day hospice in a mini-bus. He has limited mobility so together with the obligatory nurse we help him walk him down his drive & just about get him into a bus seat. He is only just about aware of his surroundings & we have to shout in his only working ear to be heard. He proudly likes to remind me he was a long distance lorry driver then a London bus driver. BUT most weeks he drives himself to the hospice, about 2 miles.
It would be grossly insulting, inappropriate & outside the remit of the hospice to say anything so I just hope the police having spotted some driving error stop him & I assume are able to proceed to have his licence revoked. My understanding is that reporting him to the police or DVLA will bring about no action & that he has to have an accident or kill somebody first (before he dies of natural causes himself which is likely within a year).
Let him enjoy his final year on Earth. He's unlikely to be doing much over 30mph at any point. And, statistically, a 90yo driver is safer than an 17yo driver. If you're worrying about a 90yo, then you also need to wring hands about 17yo drivers. Let him enjoy his last few months in his car.
Most GPs do very little about aged drivers and stopping driving .
Vocational licence holders on the other hand are monitored fairly closely.
Also if you have any form of seizures they will be all over you and remove your licence for minimum of 12 mths .
Diabetes is monitored quite well by most GPs .
But old age is self certified.
Vocational licence holders on the other hand are monitored fairly closely.
Also if you have any form of seizures they will be all over you and remove your licence for minimum of 12 mths .
Diabetes is monitored quite well by most GPs .
But old age is self certified.
Yipper said:
Let him enjoy his final year on Earth. He's unlikely to be doing much over 30mph at any point. And, statistically, a 90yo driver is safer than an 17yo driver. If you're worrying about a 90yo, then you also need to wring hands about 17yo drivers. Let him enjoy his last few months in his car.
Until he kills someone!Safer than a 17 year old? My arse! A 17 year old might drive a little quicker, but their reaction times are much quicker than any 90 year old I know - how many vids have we seen of 'older' people not pressing the right pedal and running people over?
OP, if he's a genuine concern, report it! How would you feel if next week he ran over a pram without realising?
Jim1556 said:
Yipper said:
Let him enjoy his final year on Earth. He's unlikely to be doing much over 30mph at any point. And, statistically, a 90yo driver is safer than an 17yo driver. If you're worrying about a 90yo, then you also need to wring hands about 17yo drivers. Let him enjoy his last few months in his car.
Until he kills someone!Safer than a 17 year old? My arse! A 17 year old might drive a little quicker, but their reaction times are much quicker than any 90 year old I know - how many vids have we seen of 'older' people not pressing the right pedal and running people over?
Of course 90 year olds are safer than 17 year olds. If you don't believe it, do an insurance quote as a 17 year old, then keep all the details the same and change the age to 90 and full licence for 50 years. See if the premium rises or falls.
TwigtheWonderkid said:
How many news reports have you seen re 90 y/olds leaving the road at 30mph (if they ever reach that speed) at 4pm on the way back from bingo, or driving on a dual carriageway on the wrong side...
Fixed that for you!Every now and again, prams, cyclists, petrol stations - no one is safe! Just last year, one of our older brethren managed to drive the wrong way on the A64 nr York, completely ignoring the no entry signs, the one way signs, and the fact he almost had to do a U-turn on a dual carriageway! The result? Head on collision, thankfully, only he died, the innocent party having serious injuries but survived!
Re insurance, 88.2% of statistics are made up on the spot!
Jim1556 said:
TwigtheWonderkid said:
How many news reports have you seen re 90 y/olds leaving the road at 30mph (if they ever reach that speed) at 4pm on the way back from bingo, or driving on a dual carriageway on the wrong side...
Fixed that for you!Every now and again, prams, cyclists, petrol stations - no one is safe! Just last year, one of our older brethren managed to drive the wrong way on the A64 nr York, completely ignoring the no entry signs, the one way signs, and the fact he almost had to do a U-turn on a dual carriageway! The result? Head on collision, thankfully, only he died, the innocent party having serious injuries but survived!
Re insurance, 88.2% of statistics are made up on the spot!
Jim1556 said:
Millions of young drivers verses thousands of nonagenarians? Percentage wise, probably similar...
If any group should be banned it is the under 25s. The accident rate per mile for under 25s is the highest of any age group. Too much emphasis, and dependence, is placed of quick reactions. If you don't get into dangerous situations, you don't have to depend on quick reactions to get you out of one. I know of no statistics for over 90-year-olds, but 65+ have a low accident per mile record, certainly much better than under 25s. Further, they drive lower mileages as well.
I'm not suggesting banning under 25s. It would be silly as experience is the safest thing any driver could have. Indeed, the safest drivers on the road are middle aged men. They have the lowest accident per mile rate of any group. Mind you, when they do have an accident it is often a biggy.
Derek Smith said:
Too much emphasis, and dependence, is placed of quick reactions. If you don't get into dangerous situations, you don't have to depend on quick reactions to get you out of one.
+1Not only that but it's very simplistic to say young drivers have faster reactions. In driving you are reacting to a developing situation not a light coming on in a reaction testing machine. Sheer experience means you recognise that there is something to react to far earlier.
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