In your 70s and onward, you are more likely to be involved in a crash than any other age group, except those who are 25 and younger
It was clear and dry and there wasn’t much traffic but we were doing 40 to 45 km/h and then suddenly down to 25 to 30.
The pattern of slowing to 25 to 30 followed by a sudden jump back up to 50 continued for several more blocks as did several crossovers of the centre line. When the road finally changed into two lanes I was able to pull alongside. I can’t say for sure, but she didn’t look drunk or distracted. Whatever was going on in that car, the woman was at — and probably beyond — the limits of her driving ability.
In family terms, we’re lucky if a senior relative recognizes that they should no longer be on the road, but that doesn’t always happen. Everyone has known a senior who has no idea about their current driving ability and often is in outright denial of the problem. I don’t feel that doctors should be the sole arbiters of driving fitness and the motor vehicle system shouldn’t put them in that position. But the docs still have a vital role to play. People who are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, Parkison’s disease, hearing and vision problems, stroke survivors and some with diabetes are candidates for extra assessments around their driving ability.