In the end Pell could not bring himself to report his father to the DVLA. He carried on driving until ill health made it impossible.

“Even then I remember him saying that his one regret was not having had the chance to ‘open up the Mondeo properly’,” recalls Pell. “It was heartbreaking because driving was so much a part of who he was and to take that away would have been like removing the last spark of life. He could have injured himself, my mum or anyone who was in the way at the time. It shouldn’t be left to the family to try to force a relative to see sense.”

Page two: motorists over 75 may have to pass mental test()Motorists over 75 may have to pass mental test

Drivers aged 75 and above could soon be forced to sit cognitive tests to prove they are fit to drive, writes Emma Smith.

Under proposals from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), older drivers would have to pass a half-hour, paper-based test and eye examination every five years. The DVLA’s proposals are part of a wider review of licensing drivers with medical problems and will go out for public consultation this year.

Driving licences have to be renewed every three years from the age of 70. But it is up to the driver to confess whether a medical condition or deteriorating eyesight means they are no longer fit to drive. The DVLA said as few as 10% of those with a relevant condition mentioned it on their forms. In many cases drivers may simply not have realised that slowing reaction times and fading skills could make them a danger.

“Self-diagnosis is not enough,” said Malcolm Tarling of the Association of British Insurers (ABI). “The driver is not always the best person to judge whether they are fit to drive.”

Drivers over 70 have more accidents per mile than middle-aged drivers and are more likely to be killed or seriously injured in a collision. For those aged over 85 the accident rate is even higher than for drivers aged 17 to 19, according to the ABI.

Many older drivers have good reasons for wanting to hold on to their licence. A study in the American Journal of Public Health this month monitored more than 1,500 from the age of 74 to their 84th birthday and found those who had to give up were five times more likely to end up in long-term care as a consequence of being deprived of the freedom and independence of owning a car.

In an Age Concern study, transport was found to be the single most important concern affecting older people in rural areas, giving them access to friends, family, shops and services. Age Concern accepts the need for regular eye tests but thinks other age-related tests would unfairly single out older drivers. “Decisions about someone’s fitness to drive should be based on their skill, not their birth certificate,” said Emma Hayes, a spokesman for Age Concern.

Sir Stirling Moss, 76, agrees. “There are older drivers who should not be on the road, but there are many younger drivers in the same category. It’s not necessarily age which is the determining factor.”

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