Retest is required for drivers over 70 years

In the recent days, an online petiton pops up in the internet by a guy named Ben Brooks-Dutton whose wife was killed in a deadly accident by having been hit by a car which was being driven by over 70 year old driver. It has started a popular online petiton calling for re-examination or re-test of drivers over 70 years.

Ben Brooks-Dutton worte in his recent online post that one evening he was heading home from a friend’s house with his family three years ago. It was the moment when he heared her wife’s final words which were, “I’m so proud of him referring to the couple’s two year old son, Jackson.”

In the second moment a car mounted the pavement and struck Desreen (her wife). “In that moment I became a widower.”

On investigating prosecutor, we found that the accuser was 85 years old Geoffrey Lederman, who was sentenced to 18 months in jail but was then reduced to 12 months on appeal.

Ben-Brooks Dutton, who chronicled life after his wife’s death on a blog also started a petition on change.org few days ag, calling for imperative testing of drivers every three years once they reach age 70. It accumulated about 140,000 signatures by Tuesday Afternoon.

At the moment, the drivers over 70 age must fill the re-assessment form to renew their licenses. The form doesn’t include the medical and driving test.

Ben Brooks wrote, “I know the human cost on the road and do not want anyone to go through this tragedy, a tragedy that decimated my family.” Several Commenters agreed on this proposal and many of them were elder drivers.

“I’m on the verge of 70 – and I’ve already decided to take myself off the road in the wider interests of the travelling public,” wrote one. “I’m 61, and intend to give up driving when I’m 70,” said another.

There were others too who disagreed with this idea.

“Dreadfully sorry for you loss, but the death was caused by bad driving, not the drivers’ age,” one (non-signing) commentor wrote. “Most car deaths are caused by young drivers, why spread hate and stereotypes? My father was still driving at 85, and had a clean driving license when he passed on – don’t be an agiest, it stinks.”

Data shows that drivers under the age of 20 have more fatal accidents drivers over 75, though there is some evidence to suggest drivers over the age of 80 are at an increased risk of accidents.

Brook’s petition was addressed to Department of Transport Minister Patrick McLoughlin. On the government’s official website, petitions that reach 100,000 signatures are considered for a debate in Parliament.

In 2013, Deparment of Trasport issued that statement that there is no evidence older drivers are more likely to cause an accident and further said that it had no plan of restricting licenses on the basis of age. In a statement to BBC trending on Tuesday, a department spokesperson said: Age Alone is not a reliable indicator of a persons’ fitness to drive and the vast majority of older people continue to drive safely.