Woman died after confusing brake with accelerator

A 90-year-old woman who would not give up driving despite concerns from her family died in a road accident after confusing her brake and accelerator pedals, an inquest has concluded.

Dorothy Nias, from Cornwall, died in November 2023 after the crash in Devoran the June before saw her suffer multiple injuries, the hearing in Truro was told.

The assistant coroner for Cornwall, Emma Hillson, said Ms Nias had "had a number of minor incidents prior to this collision".

Ms Hillson said she had issued a prevention of future deaths report to the transport minister, which is sent when a coroner thinks action is needed to protect lives.

The inquest heard Ms Nias had been driving downhill on an A39 dual carriageway in an automatic car she had owned for six years.

As she approached a roundabout on a road with a 50mph (80km/h) speed limit, she went into the outer lane before she mounted the roundabout and hit a lamppost.

The hearing was told it was a dry day, there were no other vehicles involved and her car had no defects.

The coroner said: "It was clear from the evidence that there were concerns raised by family members to Ms Nias regarding her ability to continue to drive having had a number of minor incidents prior to this collision."

Ms Hillson said Ms Nias was urged to use alternative transport but was independent and chose to keep driving.

The coroner said the Devon and Cornwall Police area saw 221 fatal collisions, 3,145 serious collisions and 15,868 slight injury casualties between 2019 and 2023.

Ms Hillson said 28 fatal collisions had a contributory factor of a person aged 70 or over, 310 serious incidents and 1,058 slight ones.

She added 14 of the deaths were of people aged 70 or over, as were 132 of the 310 serious and 604 of the slight injuries.

Ms Hillson has written to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and Secretary of State for Transport and asked for action to be taken to prevent future deaths and said she wanted a response in 56 days to any proposed actions to be taken.

She wrote: "At present there is no upper age limit for drivers.

"Drivers over 70 are required to apply for a new licence every three years and there is no requirement for there to be any form of medical check or assessment to confirm fitness to drive.

"The applicant must make a self-declaration."

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