A Senior Coroner has called for urgent changes in the age limits for drivers in the UK after a pensioner on a mobility scooter was mown down and killed by a 95-year-old driver. Kathleen Fancourt, 89, was killed after being hit by a car driven by the man at a pedestrian crossing while the lights were green for pedestrians and red for traffic.
The elderly driver has since pleaded guilty to dangerous driving. The unfortunate incident, which occurred in Chichester, West Sussex, has led to coroner Penelope Schofield raising concerns about the lack of limits for elderly drivers in a Prevention of Future Deaths report.
In 2020 alone there were 174 fatal accidents caused by drivers over the age of 70. Government figures also show that 'driver illness or disability (mental or physical)' was the fourth most common contributing factor in these deaths.
