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Should There Be a Maximum Age Limit on Driving?

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poor Prince Philip has had an accident, but is it his doing? is there an age where you may be considered too old to be driving?

hspexy
over a year ago
What do you think of this?+20 points
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EthanShelley

I definitely believe all drivers should have to retake their test every 10 years with increasing frequency the older you get. Fact is with age the body and brain deteriorates and we have care homes for elderly people as they are not capable of looking after themselves as well but we still trust them to be in charge of cars. If you're a competent driver you should have no issue with retaking a test.

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hspexy

I agree. As you get older (and perhaps more complacent with driving!), you might have deteriorated sight, hearing and judgement. So a test would capture that

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SalmaS

I think it should be 75 or 80. As you get older your reactions become slower. At 97 it should definitely be illegal to drive it puts soo many lives at risk

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hspexy

I can imagine that if you have reached the age of 97, the roads would have changed drastically from half a century ago, so perhaps your initial understanding of the road laws and etiquette would have changed. So definitely a good idea to either re-test, or make it illegal overall

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davidstockport

I read that if holding a driving licence was age dependent it would be younger people who would be the first to lose theirs. This theory is supported by insurance actuaries who show by the premiums they calculate that younger people are the most likely to be involved in accidents.

Perhaps it isn't just the over 70s who should have to renew their licences every three years (as it used to be). Maybe a "reaction test" coupled with a vision test, would need to be passed - for all age groups.

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hspexy

I believe so too - although it is likely that elderly people may have driving accidents, you may find that a lot of them already choose not to drive, being fully aware of their state of mind, body and health. However, the younger lot seem less willing to admit their limitations. It would only be fair if everyone, any age, is tested regularly

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davidstockport

I CHOOSE not to drive - although I retain my licence - one reason I CHOOSE not to drive is that there are so many who do CHOOSE to drive (of all ages) who are a danger to themselves and everyone else who I CHOOSE to avoid. Another reason I CHOOSE not to drive is that for many years I had, as part of my work, to drive over two thousand miles a week. (without any accident).

Another reason I CHOOSE not to drive is that I live on probably one of the best bus service in the world and since I got rid of my last car have saved several thousand pounds every year.

I sympathise with those who don't have good public transport - one reason for the lack of public transport, in my opinion, is that there are far too many people who somehow consider a car is a status symbol and would rather walk great distances from expensive car parks than probably lesser distances to a bus stop.

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hspexy

Lol sounds like you made a wise choice. Not sure if many people are capable of thinking in the same way. And you’re right about cars and status symbols. And in addition, there’s laziness...I knew someone who would drive to the station to catch the train, even though it was less than a 10 minute walk...and she was wondering why she wasn’t loosing any weight...I’ll let her figure it out!

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davidstockport

What's worse is that many mothers (not all) who live less than a five minute walk from their children's school choose to drive their children to school - and then wonder why their children are overweight.

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hspexy

oh yes, and they obviously dont realise all the extra pollution and congestion they’re causing, and that mentality spills to the next generation. My mum used to walk an hour to get to school each day, although she did live on a mountain and there were no forms of public transport to get her there, and the grandparents were too busy farming or fishing to get her by moped. So obviously it was no big deal for me to walk 20 mins to school each day when I was a kid. My kids will probably only walk 5 minutes...

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davidstockport

I was talking to my sister (three years older) and two friends similar age to myself, the only person any of us could think of who owned a car in the early 1950s was the family doctor - between us we could only remember one other child who could be described as FAT. That says a lot!

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hspexy

Ah yes, it certainly didn’t seem like a major issue back then. Although exercise and being active is one thing, diet seems to be quite poor these days, which is a shame as it does seem easier to learn about healthy foods and nutrition, yet people still want to reach for the junk

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davidstockport

I don't know if you remember Magnus Pyke (he was a nutritional scientist who was on a Yorkshire TV show) he used to say there was no such thing as "junk food" only problem was the quantities in which it's eaten. I tend to agree.😀

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hspexy

No I don’t recall. I do think quantity can be an issue, but it doesn’t apply to me - I wolf down loads of food, but my metabolism is high and I’m active. But one day I’m sure my luck will run out

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davidstockport

I have just found a video of Magnus Pyke from 1980- when you've time it's well worth a watch. He was very "animated" and very interesting to listen to.

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hspexy

Lol just a touch before my time 😜 thanks, I’ll check it out 👍

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davidstockport

Hopefully you'll love WATCHING him TALK. I remember him talking like that in The Yorkshire TV canteen he was holding a cup of tea and didn't spill a drop.😀

It's funny when the video started I thought they'd tied his hands together and then it started! ☺

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hspexy

lol I just caught a snippet of it - doesn't look at the camera at all, as he gives his undivided attention to the person who he is taking to. We don't have enough people like that nowadays

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Lynibis

I think very young and very old drivers are both sometimes dangerous to other road users. Older people can be slow to react, drive too slowly for the conditions and in unfamiliar surroundings are often in wrong lanes and don't know where they are going. However, many young drivers (and I have to say especially male) zoom around the motorways thinking they are immortal, racing each other, cutting across two lanes to exit, undertaking due to impatience even when the upper speed limit is being adhered to by the driver in front. If they will not raise the age of holding a licence (which would ease congestion) then I suggest it should be compulsory for everyone under 25 and everyone over 75 to have a dash cam and black box recorder fitted. In fact it would be good if everyone did and their insurance reflected their driving ability.

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hspexy

I agree. Tbh with the road conditions these days, I don’t think anyone should be in the road - and I mean for mainly the city areas. No one seems to be courteous on the roads anymore, and it’s very much become a norm for people to just aggressively overtake, furiously honk the horns, ignore lights and zebra crossings...it’s just so manic. I’d like to see fewer drivers on the road overall, as some people really do not need their cars. It’s a shame as the few bad drivers out there are spoiling it for the truly good drivers - this include the elderly who perhaps have never had an accident in all their lives, and the youngsters who have just passed their tests and are driving with caution (funnily enough, there do seem to be some out there are are a good representation of the younger generation 😊)

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ptenn00

he's back on the road again already, and this time spotted without his seat belt. I guess the experience never affected him much

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BW07

Its not about age we need to discuss. Its capability. Im a motorway traveller and theres plenty of under 60 odds that are just incapable and dangerous on there. Middle lane hogging , going through red 'x' on the gantry to name a couple. So this ideology around older drivers arent worthy of a licence is absolute rubbish.

I however agree with an above post that we should.have to retake our tests at so many yearly intervals. Id say 5 years for everyone. Help smash out some bad habits and learn new tricks.

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hspexy

Oooh every 5 years...that’ll give the dvla a lot of work to do

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BW07

Will create more jobs and safer roads so a win win really

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hspexy

BW07 indeed. Mind you, they plan to have those self driving cars on the road...although I’m not holding my breath as it’ll take ages for the government to sort out the rules around it

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