2:14pm Friday 26th June 2009
I would like to share an incident of wreckless driving that questions the appropriateness of elderly car drivers in Barnet. There are a great number of elderly drivers in the borough and I’m not sure how they are assessed.
On Monday at 12pm, while doing the gardening, my father and sister were startled by the noise of two loud bangs. My mother, myself and my seven-month-old daughter were in the house. We rushed outside to see that an 88-year-old lady had driven through an empty plot of land, the former Harvester site.
She entered this plot by driving through the hoardings on Golders Green Road and exited through the adjoining fence on our property, damaging our property and car parked in the drive. Her vehicle stopped in the middle of Princes Park Avenue where she narrowly missed a lorry. Luckily there were no pedestrians or other vehicles involved in this accident. Moreover, she did not sustain any injuries — not even a scratch. Police were quick to arrive, dealt with the matter professionally and were considerate. The road was closed off as the fire brigade dealt with the leaking petrol and extensive debris. We have suffered considerably.
It is likely that her driving licence will be taken away.
It is a miracle that she missed the side of our home where my mother was feeding my seven-month-old niece. They would have been hurt if her vehicle crashed into that side of our house as the patio door would not have been enough to stop the vehicle.
It has been a shocking event which has left our family in stress having to deal with the repairs and insurance companies. Insurers said we should not expect any decision for repair for three weeks, which has added to the stress.
Therefore, I leave you with the question — should people over the age of 75 be allowed to drive?
Tabassum Jafri, Golders Green
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