Pensioner, 88, stopped for speeding at 156 kph in Spain

AN 88-year-old man has been stopped by Guardia Civil for speeding at 156 kph on a motorway in the Spanish province of Ourense. 

The man, who drove a Seat Ibiza, has a restriction on his licence limiting him to just 90 kph and he can only drive during daylight hours, and within a radius of 20 kilometres from home. 

The restrictions had been placed after he took a medical to renew his licence. As he was in breach of two of those conditions – the speed and being more than 20 kilometres from home – he will now have to pass an ‘extraordinary’ medical examination. 

Ourense Guardia Civil is now reminding people who have some kind of restriction on their licence that they “must observe strict compliance with them”, as they have been imposed to allow them to meet their travel needs taking into account any physical problems they may have. 

In 2017 there were almost 4 million drivers over the age of 65 in Spain and they are generally very safe behind the wheel. 

According to a study by the Línea Directa Foundation, this age group has four times fewer accidents than those under 25, and less than half that of drivers between the ages of 35 and 44. 

Of the more than 12,000 accidents recorded by the Directorate General of Traffic (DGT) in 2016, only 12 per cent involved people over 65, although the agency stresses that their physical fragility makes the mortality rate in these cases two and a half times greater than other drivers. 

 

 

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Dilip Kuner

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