Compulsory annual driving skills tests for the over 70's

crunchman

skullfunkerry said:

PolarityMan said:

ICBM said:

PolarityMan said:

I think at this point bringing in a policy like this is a bit late as we're so close to driverless anyway. 

I really don't think so. Automatic control on motorways or possibly normal main roads is feasible in the not too distant future, but 100% driverless is not yet foreseeable I don't think - as in no manual option at all, which is what's needed when someone who can't drive is on board. I don't think that's going to be possible for a very long time - just imagine driving in a city centre now and think of all the hazards and decision-making there is in a typical journey.

I suspect technology is a few years off at most and maybe a decade or so for social acceptance.

The point that I think driverless cars have completely missed is that some people actually *like* driving: I've spent whole weekends pretending to drive before, with an Xbox and a force feedback steering wheel... if someone told me tomorrow that all cars would be driverless and I couldn't drive any more, I'd be really disappointed. I know it won't happen like that, it'll be gradual - but it will be a shame if "real" driving becomes a thing of the past.

To clarify: I'm not against driverless cars, I totally get the benefits in fuel efficiency and safety: I hope that normal cars don't die out completely though

Traditional cars will become like horses - used for pleasure by the well off rather than a mainstream mode of trasnport for the masses.

Most 75 year olds with dodgy eyesight don't keep driving for the enjoyment.  They do because they want to keep their independence.  Driverless cars will help massively with that.

Paul7926

Slightly off-topic from the ongoing debate but I wanted to add this comment.

I'm 52 and recently given up driving because of a medical condition.  It won't get better so I'll never drive again.  My decision was made because I realised that I'd never be able to live with hurting or killing someone else knowing that I was no longer competent to drive safely. 

My problem now is that I'm virtually house bound.  The medical condition isn't helping but the real problem is that I can't actually get anywhere without the car.  I can't walk or cycle so that isn't an option.  Public transport is unreliable, dirty, and only goes to certain places at certain times of day.  Taxi's are too expensive to be used continuously although I'm forced to use them to get to and from work.  There just isn't enough spare money to use them for leisure trips as well.

I mention all this because the main reason I hear for older drivers continuing to drive is because without it they lose their freedom.  Having the decision forced on me and experiencing the problems first hand has made me very sympathetic to that logic, even if I might not agree with it.

I'm sure that if we had a decent, clean and reliable public transport system that would mean a lot of people would be more realistic about giving up driving when it was necessary.  You could also introduce your checks to keep everyone safe from those that will never admit to themselves that they are no longer capable of driving safely.