Elderly driving laws must be changed, says coroner, after 89-year-old dies on M40 Mrs Flanagan, of Penton Court, Staines, Middlesex, was killed shortly after 4.30am as she joined the motorway at Handy Cross between the Denham and Swakeleys roundabouts on the A40. Mr Hulett labelled the current laws governing elderly drivers as "puny" and urged the Government to reconsider the current system. "I really think politicians and policymakers should revisit this," he said. A voluntary system every three years where you say I'm alright to drive - it seems a bit puny where the number of people over 80 is growing every year. The number of drivers over 80 will double very quickly. It's a position that should be readdressed. He added: "Having a full driving licence from the age of 17 or 18 is widely regarded as a rite of passage. Access to a car is what most young people aim for because it's a passage to independence - a passage to adulthood. At the other end of the scale, being confronted with the idea you might have to give up that independence and give up that right is something most people find very unwelcome and challenging. Figures published by the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety earlier this year showed there are as many as six million over 70s on Britain's roads, compared with less than one million 35 years ago. Around 80 per cent of people aged 60-69 hold licences and will continue to drive for another 20 years. Currently, once a driver reaches 70, they will have to reapply for a licence every three years. Although motorists have to make a medical declaration, there is no medical or test. Driver of the Golf Mr Clow escaped from the crash with a broken collarbone and fracture to his foot. Mrs Flanagan's daughter Teresa Careless said her mother would have been "mortified to know she'd hurt someone." "If anything had happened to him and not her, I don't think she would have been able to live with herself," she added. Mr Hulett recorded a verdict of accidental death. During the hearing he referred to the case of 19-year-old Charlotte Pitwell who was killed after the car in which she was travelling collided with a vehicle being driven down the wrong side of the road by a dementia patient. On that occasion Mr Hulett said there was "no political will" to change the law.