STRICTER checks on elderly motorists would not have prevented the death of a cyclist knocked down by a 93-year-old woman, a sheriff has ruled.
Elaine Dunne, 30, died while cycling in the Highlands after being struck by a car driven by Alice Ross, who suffered a suspected blackout at the wheel.
Calls had been made for compulsory health checks for older drivers following the tragedy amid fears failing health will result in avoidable deaths on Scotland's roads.
Crown Office officials had suggested older drivers should be required to have health checks and renew their driving licences every two years once they are into their 80s.
However, following a fatal accident inquiry into Mrs Dunne's death, Sheriff Andrew Berry said a stricter licensing regime would not have prevented her death and refused to make any recommendations for new regulations.
He concluded that there was nothing in Mrs Ross' medical history to indicate she should not have been driving at the time.
In his determination, he said: "There is nothing in the facts of this matter that would allow me to conclude that if Mrs Ross had been required, in terms of being say over the age of 80, to renew her licence to drive every two years, as opposed to every three years, that this would have prevented the accident.
"For the avoidance of any doubt the facts and circumstances of this tragedy bear no comparison whatever with a situation such as where an individual might, having suffered repeated ill health failed, in defiance of common sense, to seek medical advice; or failed to desist from driving pending medical advice."
The FAI at Wick Sheriff Court heard Mrs Ross, now 96, had suffered a blackout a month before the crash and had no memory of the accident on the A99 between John O'Groats and Wick in September 2011.
She surrendered her licence following the accident.
A charge of causing death by dangerous driving against Mrs Ross was dropped when the Crown Office accepted her defence that the accident was caused by an underlying medical condition.
Mrs Dunne, from Leicester, was on a cycling holiday with her husband, Christopher, to celebrate their first wedding anniversary when she was hit and killed. Mr Dunne was also seriously injured.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article