Why are older drivers being ripped off?
28/01/2008
Cheers for Walter J.Bourne, last month's letter re car insurance companies. I have myself just received a rip off 35% increase in my insurance premium But here is a different silver rip-off.
My driving licence expires on 24 February 08. DVLA have sent me a renewal notice which informs me that, as I am seventy, I can renew my licence for only three years at a time. Simultaneously I am allowed to drive are downgraded to vehicles of only 3.5 tons in weight, unless I get my doctor to complete a medical examination report (Form D4). This 8 page form, containing some 60 personal and medical questions, requires my presence before the doctor; a possible medical examination; and a fee of at least £65. Yet I have non of the physical afflictions listed, any or all of which might just as easily be detected in a much younger driver: quite apart from the terminal madness which afflicts the many boy and girl racers on our roads
Having held a full driving licence covering many categories for over fifty years, without a single accident, I am a highly experienced and competent driver of a wide range of vehicle types. In 2005 I voluntarily undertook the LGV theory test and passed with flying colours; not because I wish to drive a juggernaut, but for my own satisfaction, to test my own current roadworthiness. In the multiple choice questions, I scored 33 out of 35. In the hazard perception test, I scored 70 out of 75 points, the highest mark ever seen by the examiner, a man with twenty years in the job.
I regard this legal demand, as an outrageous and insulting infringement of my liberties. But unless I comply, I shall be prevented from driving categories of vehicle I have handled competently throughout my driving life. For example, I shall no longer be able to get behind the wheel of a modest sized, (7.5 ton) horse box, which I drive occasionally to help out friends.
Being relegated to a lower league of drivers, and a three years limit, merely because yesterday I was 69 and today I am 70,on seems to me a blatant form of ageism. A form of discrimination supposedly outlawed by this government. Yes I know there are a few old duffers around who should probably not be driving, but recent statistics prove that older drivers are generally safer and cause far fewer fatal accidents than antisocial young racers.
Am I being unreasonable? Should the DVLA revise its ageist policy? Or should it be required to foot the bill for these intrusive and heavy handed medical reports?
M J W