Older drivers are safer - it's official

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Fri 30 Nov 2012 13:40
Older drivers are safer - it's official - RT

www.honestjohn.co.uk/news/legal--motoring-advice/2.../

We told you so !!

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Fri 30 Nov 2012 13:52
Older drivers are safer - it's official - bathtub tom

PARDON!

CAN YOU SPEAK UP?

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Fri 30 Nov 2012 14:15
Older drivers are safer - it's official - Cris_on_the_gas

That's because it been commissioned by the IAM, of which the average age is 64 years

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Fri 30 Nov 2012 14:16
Older drivers are safer - it's official - unthrottled

Declare your interest!

Official statistics show that people over 70 make up nine per cent of drivers but six per of driver casualties.

That doesn't tell the full story though. Older drivers are more likely to commit RoW violations which tend not to lead to injury to that driver, but might cause significant material damage and injuries to other vehicles.

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Fri 30 Nov 2012 14:18
Older drivers are safer - it's official - veryoldbear

Oh Lordy, we're not going to have another IAM ranting thread are we ?

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Fri 30 Nov 2012 14:19
Older drivers are safer - it's official - unthrottled

Oh, go on then.

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Fri 30 Nov 2012 14:40
Older drivers are safer - it's official - TeeCee

More importantly and the usual motoring stats dodge[1], it doesn't take into consideration miles covered.

If you're 85 and pottering around locally to the tune of 3000 miles a year, you will by definition have fewer opportunities to have an accident than someone racking up 15,000 in that same year.

I wonder if when miles covered per accident are considered the elderly are still better........or actually worse?

[1] The other old chestnut here is that you are far more likely to have an accident on a road you know than one you don't. Can't remember the stat behind this, but it was something like 70-odd% of accidents occur on a road the driver knows well. I look at that, work out I spend well over 90% of my driving time on roads I know and come to the conclusion that I am actually far more likely, mile-for-mile, to have an accident on an unfamiliar road. Which makes a lot more sense.

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Fri 30 Nov 2012 16:25
Older drivers are safer - it's official - Engineer Andy

I couldn't agree more - the old line of "damned lies and statistics" applies here.

Of course, for motor insurance purposes, it matters just as much how much you drive as it does how safe you are generally - person A can drive 5,000 miles per year and have 1 accident every 3 years, whereas person B drives 15,000 miles and has 1 accident per year: no different in terms of accidents per mile, but on an annual basis driver B is 3 times worse in terms of cost to the insurer. Saying that, I bet person A wouldn't pay 1/3 of the premium (even allowing for admin. costs), more like 50-60%.

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Fri 30 Nov 2012 18:04
Older drivers are safer - it's official - unthrottled

I look at that, work out I spend well over 90% of my driving time on roads I know and come to the conclusion that I am actually far more likely, mile-for-mile, to have an accident on an unfamiliar road.

Very true. The problem is that anyone who can calculate a percentage thinks that they can 'do' statistics, and, if given a database will start drawing all sorts of meaningless correlations.

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Fri 30 Nov 2012 18:05
Older drivers are safer - it's official - unthrottled

I look at that, work out I spend well over 90% of my driving time on roads I know and come to the conclusion that I am actually far more likely, mile-for-mile, to have an accident on an unfamiliar road.

Very true. The problem is that anyone who can calculate a percentage thinks that they can 'do' statistics, and, if given a database will start drawing all sorts of meaningless correlations.

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Fri 30 Nov 2012 19:39
Older drivers are safer - it's official - madf

I reckon statistically every 10th thread has somone post the same message twice,,,

OAPs rarely psost so it's likely to be someone younger so tehy are unsafe on t'internet.

OAPs are less likely to drive when texting/on mobile. To drive after dark. To drive when drunk. To ride a motorbike (where 10% of road casualties come from ). To exceed the speed limit.. To drive at 2am and crash on ice (a local dual casualty three weeks ago)...

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Fri 30 Nov 2012 20:26
Older drivers are safer - it's official - focussed

I reckon statistically every 10th thread has somone post the same message twice,,,

OAPs rarely psost so it's likely to be someone younger so tehy are unsafe on t'internet.

OAPs are less likely to drive when texting/on mobile. To drive after dark. To drive when drunk. To ride a motorbike (where 10% of road casualties come from ). To exceed the speed limit.. To drive at 2am and crash on ice (a local dual casualty three weeks ago)...

Rubbish-

I'm just as lairy as I was when I had just passed my car test - in 1968

It's just that now I know when to be lairy and when to wind my neck in and behave.

I don't drive having had any drink however.

I don't text and drive-can't see the point ( or the screen!)

I drive at at a speed at which I am able to stop within the distance I can see to be clear.

I don't tend to drive at 2 am - on ice or otherwise but I enjoy driving on snow or ice during the day.

I do enjoy sliding my 2 tonne pickup around on wet roundabouts and frightening the s*** out of the local frogs.

I ride motorbikes with verve- I have two, both are capable of speeds in excess of double the max uk limit and are regularly road tested to ensure that they can achieve these speeds.

I am glad to report that Mr Cameron has recently poppied up with with my UK state pension.

Yours-growing old(er) disgracefully in France

Focussed.

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Sat 1 Dec 2012 23:39
Older drivers are safer - it's official - jamie745

Official statistics show that people over 70 make up nine per cent of drivers but six per of driver casualties.

Yes but how many people does their blindness cause them to run over? That is the question.

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Sun 2 Dec 2012 09:14
Older drivers are safer - it's official - Chris79
I came across an elderly gentleman trying to reverse his laguna into a space behind my car yesterday. As I approached I watched him back into another car whilst attempting the manoeuvre. It was quite clear that a laguna would not fitintothis space but he continued to try repeatedly striking some poor souls jag s type. When I returned to my car and informed him I intended to leave his car reg and details on the poor jag owners car his response was "I'm only brushing it each time".

It's not only us youngsters who can on occasion cause road chaos.....
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Sun 2 Dec 2012 20:26
Older drivers are safer - it's official - Hamsafar

Old people have more accidents with stationary objects and don't even realise and just drive off. I have seen them attempt to manoevre and because the car wouldn't drive back, they give up and drive off. I assume they were not aware they crashed as they sometimes do it twice and put more revs on the second time.

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Sun 2 Dec 2012 20:35
Older drivers are safer - it's official - jamie745

The IAMs predictably questionable report said;

They drive at slower speeds on all occasions

Don't we know it.

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Sun 2 Dec 2012 20:35
Older drivers are safer - it's official - RT

Insurance companies have been forced by equality legislation to stop basing premiums for women on RISK - I just hope no-one forces insurance companies to stop basing premiums based on age !!!

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Sun 2 Dec 2012 20:39
Older drivers are safer - it's official - jamie745

Actually they've been forced to stop basing premiums on gender. If they were told to do it based on age as well they could easily just work it out by driving experience which would probably throw up similar results anyway.

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Sun 2 Dec 2012 20:59
Older drivers are safer - it's official - RT

Actually they've been forced to stop basing premiums on gender. If they were told to do it based on age as well they could easily just work it out by driving experience which would probably throw up similar results anyway.

Thanks for that reassurance - I'd hate to have to pay typical premiums !!

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Sun 2 Dec 2012 21:49
Older drivers are safer - it's official - jamie745

Even in the labyrinth of equality law I can't think of a single segment which could be used to prevent insurers charging drivers based on how much driving they've done. Weird when you think about it, if they did enact such an age rule then you couldn't charge someone based on them being 25, but you could charge them according to having a licence for 7 years, which is effectively the same thing in most cases.

This gender equality one will mostly affect the 18-30 group as that's where the biggest gap is between them. At your prehistoric age you need not worry.

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