Rather than “demonise” older motorists and push for their removal from the roads, laws need to be altered to ensure tougher checks on drivers of all ages, Mr Simmonds said, noting that younger motorists “arguably cause far more injuries and deaths on the roads”.

“All drivers should have a practical driving test when renewing their license. Age as such is not a disability but poor driving can be down to any age group and factors like arrogance,” Mr Simmonds said.

“To those who say 80 year olds can’t be trusted on the roads, I say 20 year olds driving with drugs like ice in their system are just as dangerous, maybe worse due to their attitudes.”

However, at the same time, Mr Simmonds added that his experience in acting as a solicitor in numerous motor vehicle accidents has shown that no single age group can be singled out as a cause of all the accidents.

“There are elderly pensioners with decades of safe driving experience behind them and youngsters who drive like they’re in a Mad Max movie. Age is no
guarantee of safe driving,” he said.

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“We don’t need to categorise young or old motorists. We need to focus on having safe motorists, people who can venture onto the M1 and not treat it like a race track; people who know how to merge and properly use roundabouts and so on.

“... I agree police need to remove people off the roads if they don’t have the cognitive ability to be there, but this also applies across all age groups.
Ultimately, family and friends need to be involved to stop any at-risk driver from endangering others’ lives on the road."