Elderly Father Driving Without Due Care

Question:

I have a question on behalf of my elderly 86 year old father who has pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention.

He came out of a side road into the path of a motor cyclist who hit his front nearside door. The motor cyclist filmed the incident because he was an instructor and the police are prosecuting.

My father has been instructed to attend court. His faculties and reactions for someone of his age are very good. His health is reasonable and over 50 years of driving he has only had a few incidents. What is likely to happen; is he likely to be banned from driving?

Emma Says:

The court does have a discretionary power to impose a ban if they find that the offence is a serious one. What happened to the motorcyclist? They are not supposed to take account of the aftermath of the accident – the court are only supposed to take account of the degree of negligence involved – but it does have an effect I’m afraid.

The CPS may also feel the need to tell the DVLA is they feel that your father is no longer safe to drive.

Was your father offered the driver improvement course as an alternative to prosecution? It may be possible to persuade the CPS to let him do the course rather than have to go to court.

If you want my help with this matter I will be happy to assist. I would be willing to liaise with the CPS regarding the course and try and get the proceeding withdrawn. If I cannot then I would try and deal with his mitigation in writing rather than him having to attend court – that way we might be able to avoid reference to his age.