Quit when you become dangerous, judge urges older drivers
A JUDGE has told elderly drivers to ‘face up to facts’ if they are no longer safe on the roads after sentencing a woman of 84 who killed an 80-yearold man in a head-on smash.
Judge Stephen Holt also urged families and friends to ‘monitor’ ageing relatives as he imposed a five-year driving ban on Beryl Hughes and a 24-week jail sentence suspended for 12 months.
The judge said the fact that Hughes had picked up a speeding conviction in the months before the fatal collision may have indicated that her driving skills were starting to deteriorate.
Hughes was also injured when her Audi A3 ploughed into Brian Bockmaster’s Honda Civic on a rural road in February. Mr Bockmaster was flown to hospital with multiple injuries, but died the following day.
Judge Holt said: ‘This is a tragic case where there are no winners and all are losers. It demonstrates the importance of older drivers to exercise responsibility and recognise when their driving skills fall off to the extent that they present a danger to other road users. ‘We are seeing an increasing number of older drivers involved in such tragic cases as these in this court. It is the responsibility of older drivers and their family and friends to monitor their driving skills and face up to the fact that there will come a time when they are no longer safe to drive.
‘It is perhaps understandable, particularly in rural areas where there is no public transport, that drivers hang on to their licences longer than is safe. But the tragic consequences of this case demonstrate the very real need to face up to the facts.’
Hughes, of Downham Market, Norfolk, admitted causing death by careless driving.
Martin Ivory, prosecuting, said she had drifted across the A1122 in Stradsett into the path of her victim’s car. He said Hughes had no recollection of the crash and the cause was unexplained. She had not been drinking and conditions were good, although it was just after 8pm and dark.
Mr Ivory said Hughes had been fined for speeding after she was caught at 56mph in a 30mph zone 11 months before the fatal crash. The tragedy has left Mr Bock- master’s wife and his family devastated, Norwich Crown Court heard. William Carter, defending, said: ‘She realises that whatever happened it was plainly her fault and she has to live with that.
‘Not a day goes past when she does not think back to that terrible tragedy. She has not driven since that day. She has no intention of ever driving again.’