On driving lessons in Paisley today, both myself and learner pupil noticed a car swerving at low speeds and thought, stay back from them, whilst driving at a safe distance, we noticed the driver seemed to be having difficulty steering the car straight course, then approaching lights too quickly, I remarked, “I bet they’re on a bloody mobile” when we got closer at the lights, they were not on a mobile at all, but the driver was an elderly gentleman and it got me thinking, is he fit to drive?
In Glasgow, there is a fatal accident enquiry taking place to establish what happened that led to the deaths of 6 pedestrians in Glasgow city centre on 22 December 2014, when a bin lorry went out of control.
It has been reported that the driver of the bin lorry, failed to declare to the DVSA and his employers, that he had suffered blackouts behind the wheel of a vehicle before, notably a bus.
This got me thinking, how many people are on our roads today driving unfit through a medical condition? No one will know a true figure, but I’d hazard a guess at, it’s a lot more that any of us would think.
How many times do you hear the expression, “they shouldn’t be on the road” from family and friends?
Take a look through the DVSAs list of health conditions and ask yourself, do I know anyone that has these conditions and have they reported them to their doctor with honesty?
It has been reported the driver, involved in the Glasgow tragedy, did indeed report his blackouts to a doctor, but failed to inform him, he had done so behind the wheel, with the doctor allegedly admitting, in hindsight, he could have asked more pertinent questions.
Check here if you are fit to drive HEALTH CONDITIONS AND DRIVING.