93-year-old's crash costs £60,000

Captain Slow IRL

A 93-year-old man is to quit driving after causing £60,000 of damage in his first car accident.

Jack Higgs, of Penarth, South Wales, is to relinquish his hitherto unblemished driving licence after writing off a Porsche 911 and damaging another when he reversed into them.

The former Pentecostal minister also wrecked his Ford Fiesta, which flipped upside down as a result of the collision.

The pensioner walked away from the accident without injury and was actually sweeping up some broken glass when Porsche dealer Dave Coombes arrived on the scene.

"I think he put too much on the throttle and hit a car in the street," said Mr Coombes of RS Porsche.

"He then put it in reverse with his foot still flat on the floor and hit the gates and proceeded to go full steam.

"There were two cars on the drive and he hit one straight on and went up the back of it and his car rolled over upside down and landed on an adjacent car.

"He then crawled out of the passenger window while he was upside down and he went into his house and got a sweeping brush and started clearing up the mess."

Mr Higgs told BBC Online: "I've been driving since I was 17, have a clean licence and have never even picked up so much as a parking ticket. I just don't know what happened except that I lost control as I was reversing and suddenly I had hit the cars.

"The next thing I knew I was hanging upside down in my car thanking my lucky stars I was still alive. It was a miracle I got out alive and I put it down to the power of prayer and God looking after me. But that's it - the end of my driving career, I'm never driving again."




Courtesy of yahoo.com

The Real B-man

I Think there should be a certain age when your legally not able to Drive theres a pensioner im my area god bless him car does be screaming for a gear and her painted his car with a tin of white gloss :rolleyes:

Toots

Yeah I think so too, or their driving should be assessed every year or something. I'm not being ageist, but some of them are really a hazard on the roads. Where I used to work it was a really elderly area and the carpark outside the branch would be like dodgems with all the old dears trying to reverse out of the spaces.

Anyone else remember the incident down by sandymount strand last year where the elderly lady managed to get her 206 stuck on the little wall at the beach carpark?

Captain Slow IRL

Trey Parker and Matt Stones views on elderly drivers!

kowloon

A health test every 3 yrs over 50 and every year over 65 or something like that?
Test eyesight, hearing, reflexes etc.

Would be expensive though

The Real B-man

land9 wrote: »

Trey Parker and Matt Stones views on elderly drivers!

Hillarious

Captain Slow IRL

Download the full episode if you can, funnier bits left out!

Toots

kowloon wrote: »

A health test every 3 yrs over 50 and every year over 65 or something like that?
Test eyesight, hearing, reflexes etc.

Would be expensive though

I think it's when you're over 70 you can only get a 3 year licence and new one is subject to a physical or something of the like. I think the health test for over 50s is only for renewing your HGV licence. My BF's dad has a truck licence and has to get a physical to get it renewed, but his new licence is a 10yr and he won't have to get checked again until he gets it renewed. Both my parents are nearly 60 and have class b licences, never had to take a physical.

TBH, over 50 would be a bit young for testing every 3 years tho. Perhaps 65?

BostonB

Nice theory except the stats don't agree with you.

They should test everyone every 5 yrs with theory, and then a practical every 10 yrs.

maidhc

Toots85 wrote: »

Yeah I think so too, or their driving should be assessed every year or something.

This could apply to people of all ages to be honest!

Toots85 wrote: »

Anyone else remember the incident down by sandymount strand last year where the elderly lady managed to get her 206 stuck on the little wall at the beach carpark?

So? Lets face it, these accidents like the one the OP quotes are almost irrelevant and an insurance companies dream. If the only accidents we had were old dears crashing into stuff in carparks insurance would cost about €10 a year and noone would die.

Toots

Probably right, although in fariness the once off driving test is a bit flawed anyway. Everyone's on their best behaviour on the day of the test but probably goes back to their bad habits once the test is over and the L Plates are in the bin.

Max_Damage

Poor Fiesta.