Dear LPG.

It is a fact that every now and then we find a television programme or news report which informs us how dangerous it is to drive as we get older, but I have been looking at a few sets of online statistics on the subject which tell quite a different story.

While we know that there is an element of risk in everything we do, there is no doubt about it, accidents do happen.   There is a lot of evidence that shows the youngest drivers on UK roads to be more likely to be involved in an accident than us oldies, so I ask why so much focus is placed on the televised testing of older drivers.  I know I don’t watch all the channels but I would argue that there is significantly less TV time dedicated to looking at the competence of the young people on the roads.  We also have to remember that many of these statistics tell us about accident involvement and not who is to blame in each case.

I think that all the hype focussed on us older drivers scares many into stopping prematurely and can be responsible for taking a really big chunk of independence from us.  We can also feel forced to over-analyse our ability to drive and affect our confidence.  Some of us will only be able to get to certain destinations alone because of our ability to drive, while family and friends are often in a much better position to let individual drivers know of any concerns they have with their driving skills.   The drivers amongst us are often the ones who visit otherwise lonelier friends and I feel a sense of purpose each time I am able to help one of mine shop or get out and about.

I don’t drive very far these days but really value the fact that I can still get behind the wheel when I want to get to certain places, and I hope that reading a few of the bits of the statistical information I have found helps any older driver, who maybe weighing up whether they should give up their car, to add a few more pros and cons into the mix.

ND Catford

ND offers some statistics…..

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