"Elderly driver who knocked down girl, 13, is advised to avoid busy roads"

Down under rules vary a bit from State to State and I was looking up something on age rules  for my daughter about driving in New South Wales and was surprised to find that elderly drivers can keep their license as long as it is marked up with something like "only going to local shops"......

Quote:

85 and older

When you reach 85 years old, you’ll need to have a medical review every year, to keep your licence. See Are you fit to drive? for more information.

You also have the choice of taking out a modified licence, or keeping your unrestricted licence. If you wish to keep your unrestricted licence, you’ll need to successfully pass a practical driving assessment, every second year.

Modified licence

A modified licence lets you keep driving under certain circumstances. These circumstances are added to your licence as conditions, which are printed on the back of the card. You must comply with the conditions on your licence when driving.

If you choose a modified licence, you do not need to attempt a practical driving assessment.

For example, you may choose to drive only within a certain distance of your home, or only at certain times of the day. You should discuss your options with your doctor, who can help you work out ways to keep you safe on the road.

.....thats one way of dealing with an elderly car dependent population - come Brexit I guess England, Essex, Cornwall, Wales, NI, The Northern Powerhouse, The EU republic of Ecosse  etc could all seperately elect to have some equally bizarre local legislation 

taken from: 

http://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/roads/licence/older-drivers/index.html

I can't wait until we get autonomous cars to give these people an alternative. That sentence is a joke; it should be an immediate license revocation for hitting someone like that.

Seems to be an uncommonly lax decision from what I see on Road.cc   The old girl should have been disqualified from driving, fined and told to get a taxi or bus to her activities.    If the young girl had hit the old lady on the crossing there would have been an uproar.   Does anyone in authority give a f*ck about cyclists ?  

I imagine a dialogue like this:

Magistrate: Why do you believe that you should keep your licence?
Elderly Lady: Because I like to keep active and I need to drive to my activities
Magistrate: If you want to keep active you could cycle to these activities
Elderly Lady: Are you kidding, there are people like me on the road
Magistrate: Good point, you need keep your licence

Hampshire Police have are spending this week running workshops for elderly drivers, with a view to "ensuring they can keep driving for as long as possible"

Completely the wrong approach.

https://www.hampshire.police.uk/news/general/older-drivers-awareness-week/

Having watched '100 year old drivers' that was shown on ITV recently and some of the leniency shown by so called professional assessors from RoSPA, it's frankly shocking how we allow older drivers on the roads without regular testing when it's clearly obvious many don't have the ability to drive safely. I don't mind if they're doing 25 in a 30 zone or 45 in a 60, that doesn't bother me in the slightest (as it seems to do most other people driving), it's the simply not seeing or not being able to react to situations around them that they absolutely must take responsibility for.

Agree above, testing of everyone that operates a killing machine should be a regular occurence, after all we require that employees are tested and retrained when using potentially dangerous bits of machinery in industry, why is the thing that kills thousands and maims tens of thousands allowed to be used without same?

Government inaction makes them complicit in the deaths and injuries sustained as we know that humans can't be trusted to do the right thing when given such power and perceived entitlement

And I thought road.cc suffered with annoying pop-ups....

This would be less common if people had to do a medical and a driving test every five years. Would get more incompetant drivers off the road.

Would also have a side benefit of all the older epopel who would lose their licence would get very interested in getting better public transport.

Look at this shocking old bastard taking a cyclist out. Doesnt give a fuck.

https://youtu.be/ilp1ee04E1c

^^Too true. I think the bike is a non-factor here, it's the ages that count, and as we know, teenagers don't. 

Maybe she'll stop when she runs over her grand daughter.

Other peoples grand daughters are fair game though...

Totally shocked, you bump into someone on a bike and you get a considerable jail sentence (note my understanding is that the law is not supposed to look at the injury consequence).

Surely this woman should be provided with the alternative arrangements she can afford to maintian he lifestyle. The phone number of the local taxi firm and a bike with a few lessons so she can remain active.

As evidenced in the court she 'hit and run' so it should have been dangerous driving.

We are yet again being failed by our society to ensure the safety of  all due to the consequence on the convenience for these people. 

to be honest I was more interested in the headline "Grim discovery on Westcountry beach 'penis and testicles'"

WHERE IS THE PUNISHMENT!!!?!?! £400 is nothing to some people.

Your sentencing now seems to be determined by your choice of activities, a bit like posh doctor girl and her 'talent'. Surely a PUNISHMENT for running someone over would be the forced withdrawl from your activities which would actually make you think about your actions.

Please Mr. Magistrate, if I'm banned I won't be able to do things I enjoy for bit.

“I am a very independent person and rely on my car. I play tennis twice a week, bowls in Topsham, I sing in a choir and do tai chi.”

. . .

Harrison, who admitted driving without due care and attention, told magistrates that if they disqualified her she would not be able to go to her activity groups.

She was fined and told to pay costs of £405.

Magistrates told her to pay more attention and consider not driving at busy times of the day."

Aww bless.  Play tennis, sing in a choir, do tai chi.  Surely the occasional child getting run down is a small price to pay for allowing such fine upstanding members of the community to engage in their fulfilling activities?  Maybe, like the nice Magistrate suggested, she'll consider only running down children at quiet times of the day now.

Elderly drivers are a ticking time bomb, is about time  we put the victims first and get poor drivers off the road. An immediate license suspension until a test is passed is needed IMHO.

Yeah.. but you are forgetting that without her licence she wouldn't be able to play bowls innit? 

Seems totally fair in my eyes. Bloody cyclist shouldn't have been on the crossing... or... the green man is only an advisory, the bloody cyclist should have still looked before crossing... or... bloody cyclists, she deserved it, because I once saw one jumping a red light, once maybe - ok I read about it.