Just for information, the term baby-boomers refers to people who were born post-war between about 1946 and 1964. That would make them between 47 and 66 as of today.
This story, submitted by a reader, reports that the UK population is getting older and an increasing number of cars are being driven by the over-65s. At the moment, around 15% of the population is over 65, but this is predicted to rise to around 25% by 2050.
A parliamentary committee is suggesting in a report that older drivers could be sent on courses.
Frighteningly, in 1975 only 15% of the over-70s had driving licences. In 2010 it stood at 60%. The story adds:
Older drivers are over-represented in multi-vehicle crashes, suggesting that they have difficulty interacting with other road users.
This is almost the exact wording used in that Young Drivers Risk & Rurality report I mentioned recently. It would seem that if you select the appropriate reports, every single person in the UK Is “over-represented” one way or another when it comes to crap driving!
Young drivers often think they know it all, when simple logic clearly dictates that they don’t – because they simply cannot, due to lack of experience. Older drivers might be a lot closer to knowing it all, but whether they can recall it at the right time or not is another matter entirely.
Amusingly, the story mentions that over-70s just have to fill a form in saying they’re safe to drive and bingo! – here’s a new licence. The parliamentary report…
…says there needs to be urgent research into whether this is working…
Of course it isn’t bloody working! You’d have to be an idiot to think that self-certification isn’t going to be abused the second you let it loose.
The AA believes that any extra training should be voluntary and not mandatory. I disagree with that. The AA says:
If there was a compulsory course or testing people might worry unnecessarily and be unwilling to go through it, so they would lose their mobility.
OK. So let them carry on lying just to retain their “mobility” – and don’t worry too much when things like this happen (Cassie’s Law still needs signatures, by the way). By all means put greater value on an old person’s wheels than on the life of a teenager – but close the door on your way out!
There should be mandatory testing of ANY at-risk group or individual.
As people are fond of saying, a driving licence is a privilege, not a right. But it would appear that this doesn’t apply to old people, for whom a driving licence is increasingly turning into an absolute right.