We were kindly invited to send a couple of committee members to visit Witney u3a for one of their speaker meetings - held in the Witney Methodist Church.

The invite was to a meeting on the 21st Sept, when they were considering the important topic of DRIVING - something that is important to many of us, but as time passes, we may not be quite so able.

I was met at reception (appropriately jocular welcome - well done) by Chair Rhys, who introduced me to Suzanne, a former chair, so I was immediately engaged with a couple of people which was great! Or maybe they wanted to keep an eye on me ....

The Church is large and has been modernised; “in the round” with a good sound system and loop, and two good size screens for the presentation. A great venue, just off the high street with parking near Waitrose close by.

The meeting started with the usual housekeeping (phones, loos, emergency exits) and intro to the speakers by Rhys, who had “done” an Institute of Advanced Motoring Mature Driving Review a few weeks before; he shared his results later. Rhys pointed out that the 80plus generation are the most likely to be injured or killed in road traffic incidents .... higher even than teenagers. Nationally, in 2024 29,467 people were killed or seriously injured in Road Traffic Incidents, and theres a target to reduce that by 65% by 2035.

Driving is important to us - it brings a great level of independence, but it also carries great responsibilities - to do so safely, both for yourself and others.

First speaker was Scott who spoke about the Institute of Advanced Motorists - now known as IAM Roadsmart - and what it does for mature drivers, recognising that we all 'ripen'!

Essentially there is their Mature Driving Review - it’s £87 (probably plus VAT?) for an hour’s accompanied drive on familiar roads, in your own vehicle, and you are assessed under 12 headings, each graded excellent, competent, needs development, and safety concern. You are given hints and tips during the assessment and at the end, a (digital) certificate and an assessment grade. Generally this is found to be a very positive and experience.

The second speakers, Anita and Jessica - both Occupational Therapists with specific expertise were from a charity, RDAC (I have no idea what that means) and their job is a bit different - they do do driver assessments, but to determine if folks can continue driving when they have some disability, perhaps the consequence of a stroke or amputation.

Sometimes people are told that they need to stop driving, but it may prove possible for them to continue with some adaptations to the vehicle. They brought a couple of “standard” devices to show, but other adaptations are possible - a car driven entirely with the drivers feet was cited - steering with one foot and speed controlled with the other!

We were reminded of our legal duty to advise DVLA of any relevant condition, illness or cognitive impairment that could affect driving performance. And, of course,good vision is vital, with the possibility of mandatory eye tests in the future.

At the end, Q&A; one person pointed out something that I d missed, that when you renew your licence at 70, the classes of vehicle that you are licensed to drive changes .... if you want some classes you can include them in the application, but otherwise they are gone.

More info from https://olderdriversforum.com/the-law-and-the-dvla/

It was a really interesting and important session, with a lot to take on board. I will be booking a mature driver review .