A PENSIONER from Bournemouth says his independence is lost after losing his driving licence following a failed assessment – but insists he can prove he is a competent driver.
George Prince, 86, believes he has been “sewn up” by motoring authorities who revoked his driving licence after a report found him to be an unsafe driver.
Last year, while driving down Castle Lane West in Bournemouth, George was involved in a crash with another vehicle after he missed a traffic light change from green to red. Nobody was injured and he took responsibility for the accident.
Dorset Police gave the father of two the option of going to court or take a ‘fitness to drive’ assessment by Wessex Driveability, a Driving Mobility accredited organisation used by police.
Following the examination, Wessex Driveability gave George a MoCA (Montreal Cognitive Assessment) score of 24/30, two below what is considered normal, and was described as “unsafe” in the driving report.
However, the Springvale Avenue resident questioned the truthfulness of the report. He told the Echo: “I was two off, that doesn’t make me a bad driver as another day I could have got the better score. But there are several anomalies in their report which I’m challenging.”
In George’s report, the assessor wrote: “On several occasions assessor intervention on the steering wheel to maintain safety was required”. Of this, furious George said: “[The assessor] never put a finger on the steering wheel. If [they] had, I’d have stopped the car – it’s just a blatant lie.
“From the start, I feel they made up their mind that I was going to be unsafe. I don’t think I had the chance.”
The DVLA, having received Wessex Driveability’s report, elected to revoke George’s licence after 60 years of driving.
Incensed by the decision, George sought further opinions. He underwent an assessment with IAM RoadSmart and was marked as either ‘excellent’ or ‘competent’ in each of the 12 assessment points.
A requirement for reapplying for a licence with the DLVA is to provide a medical examination report from a doctor. George was subsequently seen by his doctor, scoring 27/30 on the MoCA screening and full marks on a mental state examination scale.
George described these two reports as “proof” that he can still be a safe driver.
“I am losing my temper I’m afraid,” he said. “I’m stuck and don’t know what to do. I’m not sleeping well because I keep waking up thinking about what’s happened, it’s always on my mind.
“I feel like my independence is lost. I may be 86 but I feel I’ve got another five or ten years in me yet, and the last thing I want is to be banned from driving – which is something I love, and I know I can do it.”
Rachel Odell, Wessex Driveability’s centre manager, sympathised with George’s plight but defended the assessment process.
She said: “We have two assessors, an occupational therapist making detailed notes on a very strict scoring sheet and a driver assessor.
“He was two points below normal on the cognitive test which is still a pretty good score and we never make assumptions based on the test as we’ve seen people score low on that and then drive well. That wasn’t the case with Mr Prince.
“Part of our impartiality is to have two decision makers, it’s a collective response and the decision was made collectively.”
Ms Odell also said while the test result was “unfortunate”, they would be happy welcome George back in the future.
According to Wessex Driveability figures, 89 per cent of those aged 70 to 75 are rated safe. This reduces to 69 per cent for 81 to 85 year olds, which is then almost halved for 86 to 90 year olds who have just a 37 per cent pass rate.
A DVLA spokesperson said: “When considering an application to issue a driving licence we aim to make a decision as quickly as possible. However more complex transactions, for example if medical investigations are needed, will take longer.
“Where we require additional information from a driver’s doctor or the driver themselves we are wholly reliant on receiving this information before a decision can be made.”
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