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[QUOTE=Mike Harte;4185972]It's not just vision deficiencies that are a problem when one gets older, Gordon; you also need to factor in reaction times and awareness of one's surroundings. Those two seem to be fairly major failings with the elderly.
One reads so often about elderly drivers not being aware of where they are, driving around in circles - remember the driver that spent something like 24 hours driving around the M25 thinking that they were somewhere else - and not forgetting those who find themselves driving the wrong way on motorways.
.There is not much doubt that the worst drivers are the under 25 male types , and insurance companies know this .
One of their problems is that they think they have quick reactions .
It is something physcologists call the " Gunfighter Syndrome ", [ from the old western movies where the young gun would call out the old gunfighter and always get beaten by him ].
The fact is that a natural reaction that comes from a lot of experience is infinitely faster than a reaction that has to be thought about .
So the older more experienced drivers will usually be safer than younger less experienced drivers , because they will often have reacted to a road problem without even thinking about it .
But you can never expect civil servants and politicians to understand reality , and make sensible rules .
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