Elderly Drivers, Putting the Brakes On - ITV's Tonight Programme

[Diasi]

Well all I can say is it wasn't an elderly driver & his three passengers who were found dead in an upside down car in a water-filled Welsh ditch on Tuesday.

[Michael Rolls]

nor the mangled car with two youngish women in it on the A3 I saw on my way to work years ago, nor the young hothead who charged past me in the fog, again years ago, who collided with a bridge support a few miles on - the fog was so thick the idiot probably didn't even see it - I had been doin 10 mph, even less sometimes

[Diasi]

It's ageism based on age & not on on individual ability.

If an article said female Asian drivers were a scourge on the roads there'd be an uproar & court cases.

[Raven]

Will have to record that and do my shouting at the screen later, and I expect there will be shouting.
I travel up n down the A9, the single lane through the Highlands bit and the on/off dual bit between Perth n Inverness. It's always young impatient drivers who cause the accidents not the older steady ones. They sometimes get right up behind you and try to intimidate you to go faster on the single lanes. Doesn't work with me........but it's bloody annoying all the same. 

[klondike]

Well all I can say is it wasn't an elderly driver & his three passengers who were found dead in an upside down car in a water-filled Welsh ditch on Tuesday.

I can't help thinking that there is something we are not being told about that although that may be because i haven't seen more than headines on it. For instance it's a strange time for four young blokes to go off on a camping holiday.

[Ashy]

From what I can make of it they had intended to camp for only one night and then go home. Sadly they never made it to to where they intended to camp.

[GrannyMac]

Inexperience plus tricky conditions. Tragic for the families.

[Raven]

I watched it a wee while ago, it was interesting untill it got to the insurance companies. That did get me angry, they are ageist to the extreme and the government needs to call a halt to their nonsense.

[Michael Rolls]

they really are - when I turned 80 they wacked the premium up, and when I turned 85... It costs more than twice as much to insure a £31,000 car than a £300k+ house!

[Alex]

Your premium was probably the same as the value of my car  !    

[Michael Rolls]

this year it is £1200      The house is £500 and something

[Alex]

Yep ! 

[klondike]

they really are - when I turned 80 they wacked the premium up, and when I turned 85... It costs more than twice as much to insure a £31,000 car than a £300k+ house!

To be fair there is very little chance of your house crashing into another though. My insurance shot up this year and I'm a way off of 80. Not to  £1200 though. I think it was  £450 when it used to be about  £250.

[Michael Rolls]

very true - but if something goes wrong with a house - fire, flood, ro the like, the costs involved will far outweigh car repairs (although probably not personal injury claims)

[klondike]

although probably not personal injury claims

Yes. There could be personal injury claims from private houses but the numbers of those would be vanishingly small compared to those from vehicle accidents.

Insurers set premiums based on risk plus what they can get away with. House insurance isn't compulsary as we find out every time there are stories of flooding but car insurance is with every chance of being caught out if you have none especially as car tax is policed by ANPR which probably includes MOT and insurance checking. We are a captive market on cars.