Cornwall mum ‘could be alive’ if older driver rules changed

Claire Eady believes that if the rules for older drivers were different her mum would still be here today.

Last summer 79-year-old Geraldine Gibson died after pulling out into oncoming traffic near her home in Cornwall.

“I never thought I would have to say the words ‘my mum’s been killed in a car crash’,” said Mrs Eady, who said regulations for drivers over the age of 70 were “unsafe and inadequate” and needed an overhaul.

At the moment there is no upper age limit for driving in the UK, with around 500 licence holders aged between 100 and 108.

The government said it was committed to improving road safety.

Mrs Gibson was trying to cross the A30 at Plusha near Launceston to meet a friend when she pulled into the path of another car.

An inquest heard there was nothing the other driver, who suffered minor injuries, could have done to avoid it.

National Highways told the hearing the junction had since been altered after other accidents but Mrs Eady, from West Sussex, said older age was “absolutely a factor” in her mother’s crash.

She learned her mother was struggling to manoeuvre beforehand and had a separate near-collision.

Mrs Eady said she believed arthritis and an earlier stroke may also have affected her mum’s driving.

“I don’t think my mum ever would have thought she needed to stop driving because there were too many things that depended on her being out in a car,” she said.

Drivers have a legal responsibility to notify the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) of conditions affecting their fitness to drive, but Mrs Eady said this felt insufficient.

“You can’t really rely on the individual to do that… especially if it’s their only way of getting out,” she added.

She said she would like medical professionals to be legally required to notify authorities and for there to be mandatory testing for those over 70.

What are the current rules regarding older drivers?

• Drivers must renew their licence aged 70 and every three years thereafter
• There is no upper age limit for driving in the UK, with about 500 licence holders aged between 100 and 108
• Drivers have a legal responsibility to self-declare medical conditions that could affect driving to the DVLA
• Guidance by the DVLA states health professionals should inform the agency if a patient cannot or will not, but it is not a legal requirement

As the UK population ages, the number of older drivers is also increasing, with licence holders aged 70 and over going up by about 200,000 a year, according to the DVLA.

Department of Transport statistics show older drivers make up about 14% of all licence holders but account for a quarter of those killed on the roads, and that people aged over 75 and under 25 are at highest risk of being killed or seriously hurt in a crash.

Rob Heard from the Older Drivers Forum, which supports motorists to continue driving safely for longer, said the “vast majority of older drivers have a wealth of experience, confidence and tolerance”.

But he added: “As we age, our relative frailty means that older drivers are often over represented in serious injury collisions, particularly for the age group of 80 and above.”

Mr Heard said elderly drivers were more likely to crash due to illness or errors in judgement, while accidents involving younger drivers were more likely through speed or taking risks.

He said he supported mandatory referrals of medical conditions by health professionals and advised concerned family members to encourage mature driver assessments.

The BBC has had exclusive access to a report, which said many people were “unaware” of their legal obligation to inform the DVLA of certain medical conditions and health professionals were “reluctant to” do so.

The research, prepared for a coroner in April, showed less than 10% of DVLA notifications were made by medical professionals and other third parties.

The report’s author, Dr Carol Hawley, research fellow at the University of Warwick, said the system “does need to change”.

She said her research suggested there was underreporting of visual and medical conditions “because there are not that many notifications compared to the number of driving licence holders and the number of people that have those conditions”.

Professor Kamila Hawthorne, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said the college would welcome a more formalised approach “to ensure that any necessary breaches of doctor-patient confidentiality are protected in law and avoid undermining patient trust”.

The Association of Optometrists and The College of Optometrists said they “strongly support” the introduction of regular mandatory vision checks for all drivers and said the current system was “not fit for purpose”.

Elsewhere in Cornwall, Hilary Nias said she “feels very strongly” that change is needed, following her sister-in-law’s fatal accident.

“It was a tragic end to a really interesting life,” she said, adding family had repeatedly warned her that her driving was unsafe.

Jennifer Nias, 90, pulled out onto the A39 at Devoran and crashed onto a roundabout when she mistook the accelerator pedal for the brake.

She died from her injuries five months later.

Mrs Nias said her sister-in-law could “only just” see over the dashboard and was having problems with spatial awareness.

“That needed testing and assessing… it could possibly have avoided my sister-in-law’s ghastly accident – and many others,” she said.

Jennifer Nias applied for her driving licence to be renewed within the three years before her accident and no medical conditions were declared.

Following her inquest Emma Hillson, assistant coroner for Cornwall, wrote to the Department of Transport and the DVLA, highlighting the lack of any “requirement for there to be any form of medical check or assessment to confirm fitness to drive”.

Mrs Nias said she was “frankly depressed” by the response, which did not suggest any changes to the current system.

There is a higher proportion of elderly people in the South West of England than the national average, and some here see driving as a lifeline.

In Bodmin, 130 older people meet weekly at the town hall at an Age Concern social group. Some drive to get there.

Widower Reg Harris, 85, said giving up driving would “absolutely crucify” his lifestyle.

Alvin Trevenna, 88, added: “I wouldn’t be able to get anywhere, do anything… I’d just as well sit in the armchair and wait to die.”

Drivers can refer themselves for an older driving assessment by Driving Mobility at a cost, but referrals from the DVLA, police or NHS are free.

The charity said more than 10,000 people aged over 70 in England underwent one in 2024 – 0.2% of drivers of that age.

The local road safety partnership Vision Zero South West wants more public awareness as well as tighter regulation.

It said 176 drivers aged over 60 were killed or seriously injured on Cornwall and Devon’s road network in 2024.

Chair Alison Hernandez said: “We want to protect people’s lives because it is absolutely devastating when this happens to people and their families.”

Asked what could be done to support older drivers who felt they had no choice but to carry on because public transport often was not good enough in rural areas, Hernandez said her office was planning to run a campaign “to educate older drivers on how they can be at their best behind the wheel”.

The government told the BBC the DVLA was analysing findings from recent inquests, and from a 2023 call for evidence on the legislative framework governing driver licensing for people with medical conditions.

It said the DVLA would continue to engage with healthcare professionals and their regulatory bodies to understand if there may be circumstances where they “could be encouraged or supported in notifying DVLA of a patient’s medical condition”.

A Department for Transport spokesperson added: “The NHS recommends adults should have their eyes tested every two years and drivers are legally required to inform the DVLA if they have a condition which affects their ability to drive.

“We are committed to improving road safety and continue to explore ways to achieve this.”

Additional reporting by Lauren Woodhead, England Data Unit