Is it time to change rules for all elderly drivers?
THE case of 90-year-old driver Philip Bull, who killed a couple outside a hospital after ‘unintentionally’ pressing the accelerator, raises questions about elderly people behind the wheel.
He’d dropped off his wife at Withington hospital when hecrashed into Clare Haslam, 44, and Deborah Clifton, 49, in the car park, killing them both.
Such a tragic case is rare - but does it highlight a need for more stringent testing for older drivers?
Currently, DVLA guidelines mean drivers have to renew their licence at 70 - and every three years after that.
Despite having to tick a box to say their eyesight is fit for driving, there’s no testing required and the onus is on the driver to report any medical conditions to the DVLA.
With our ageing population - more than one million drivers are now over 80 and some are 100 - should this part of the law be changed?
Many experts are in agreement it should be modified - but only to include an eye test after age 75.
Neil Greig, director of policy and research at IAM Road Smart, is keen to stress that older drivers are among the safest, that most know their own limitations - and this court case, although tragic, is unusual.
But he admits there are always ‘one or two who slip through the net.’
He adds: “When you start to get above 85 years old you do tend to have more catastrophic incidents like this.”
He argues a ‘fresh look’ is needed to deal with what he describes as a ‘demographic time bomb’ of older drivers on the roads. There is, he says, a lack of good advice for older drivers - or access to driving assessment, or even discussion around when to give up driving in Britain.”
So do we differ when it comes to older driving rules across Europe?
We do. Some are more relaxed than us. In Belgium, France and Germany you keep on driving with no renewals. But in Denmark you need a doctor’s certificate after 70.
In super-strict Finland, drivers must have a medical review every five years after 45 - plus verification of ability by two people.
But there’s no evidence to show such stringent measures make a difference. Neighbouring Sweden, which has no age-related control, does not have a higher rate of crashes than Finland among that age group. There’s also evidence that onerous medical tests can put off older people from driving - risking their independence and happiness as a result. Increasing the pressure to take services to them, it can also prove more costly for the taxpayer.
But there is a half-way house - and we’re currently not in it. That’s according to the Older Drivers Task Force, a lobbying group made up of driving experts, lawyers, charities, insurance firms and the DVLA. They were commissioned last year by the government to look into the issue.
Their key recommendation was that the renewal age is moved to 75, when drivers must provide proof of having passed an eye test. But the government is yet to respond.
Philip Bull, 90, of Button Lane, Wythenshawe, pleaded guilty to two counts of causing death by dangerous driving at Manchester Crown Court on Thursday. He will be sentenced on October 26.