August 14, 2014

100 year-old Drivers

ITV’s programme on 100 Year-Old Drivers (a documentary which follows elderly drivers) has sparked a debate on the status of elderly drivers.

With no further test required for the older drivers in this country, it’s usually down to sons and daughters to decide if their elderly parents are still safe to be on the road. The documentary features a bomber command veteran, Harry who had never taken a practical test since it was not a requirement when he started 86 years ago.

The statistics suggests that drivers over 70 cause fewer accidents than the under-30s, but does that take into account numbers, and numbers, and time spent on the road? Also, if we take into consideration 100-year-olds – the average 100-year-old driver is more likely to cause, or have, an accident, in every minute they’re on the road, than the average 29-year-old. There have been the occasional stories of elderly drivers driving recklessly, a characteristic more commonly associated with younger drivers.

Calls have been made to require elderly drivers to be assessed, yet the focus still very much remains on young drivers.

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