Older motorist equals less risk

I WAS shocked at the gratuitous attack by Peter Kirkwood (Gazette letters, November 4) on Patrick Higgins, the gentleman who forgot to display his parking disc.
By The Newsroom
Published 11th Nov 2010, 10:56 BST

Surely, occasional forgetfulness is not a “medical condition”? If it was, most of us would be off the road! And to imply, without any evidence, that Mr Higgins should cease driving because of other unspecified and unsubstantiated defects in his driving, is at best uncharitable and at worst insulting.

In our society, drivers over 60, many with a lifetime of accident-free driving and with clean licences, are sadly considered fair game by those with an axe to grind.

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The DVLA and the law enshrine the framework for the control of medical conditions. It is noteworthy that in the next 25 years, 40 per cent of drivers will be over 50.

With regard to risk, the motor insurance industry, which relies on hard accident statistics and is therefore the real expert in risk-assessment, would be charging sky-high premiums for the older driver and low premiums for the young. We all know that, in fact, the opposite is the case.

D. Wilkins,

St Winefride’s Road,

Littlehampton