Prince Philip and telling your dad to give up driving | Letters

The assumption that reaction speeds get slower as we age may not be correct, says Terry Sheppard. The royals will have their work cut out trying to persuade Philip to stop driving, writes Peter Bardsley. Plus letters from Alan Weeks, Michael Peel and Toby Wood

Your leader comment on road safety (The moral of the duke’s story, 19 January) that reactions get slower as we age may not be correct.

At one time in my career I was responsible for safety and training in a very large road haulage fleet. At regular sessions with seasoned HGV drivers, we included a go on a reaction test machine. We systematically recorded the time taken to apply a “footbrake” on a red signal light. There was no difference whatsoever between drivers of all ages between 25 and 65. The older bodies got the brake on just as quick as the younger ones.

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from Children | The Guardian http://bit.ly/2S1yQMf