'Mum's death should force rethink on older drivers'

The family of a woman killed in a supermarket car park are calling for tougher rules around driving licences to stop motorists taking the wheel when they are no longer fit to drive.

Rosemary Macandrew died after being hit by a car driven by 89-year-old Noel Maguire at Waitrose in Newark, Nottinghamshire, in July 2024.

After an inquest last month heard Mr Maguire - who died in March - had admitted being confused when he hit the accelerator pedal instead of the brake, a coroner said she would write to the government raising concerns about the self-certification system for older drivers.

Ms Macandrew's family said they did not want anyone else to suffer a similar loss.

Ant Macandrew and Chantelle Cattermole said their mother - known to family and friends as Rose - was a loving grandmother and music fan who regularly attended their bands' gigs.

"There was no-one more proud of us than mum - she came to everything we did," Mr Macandrew said. "With the grandkids, you knew mum would be there at any point.

"There was no-one more supportive, and it's a huge loss for our family."

"She'd have a book in front of her, and she'd have all the gigs she was planning to attend," said Ms Cattermole.

"She'd always make sure she had all the latest merchandise, if she wasn't making it herself... [she was] just the most supportive mother."

Mr Macandrew said he received the devastating news about his mother's death from his father.

"I was on a video call at the time for work and I got a call from my dad - it was normal for my dad to ring me about 100 times anyway, so when I saw he was ringing me lots of times I just thought it was a normal thing," he said.

"When I did speak to him he did sound very distraught, and he did say that mum wasn't here any more, and I was a bit taken aback by that, because normally when you get a call saying somebody isn't here any more, you can't really process that.

"I always thought if somebody was going to be ill, you'd get a chance to see them before anything happened, but it was just very quick - a very sad day for us all."

Ms Cattermole said the impact of the crash had been devastating, describing her mother as "the backbone of the family".

"She was just the most beautiful lady ever," she said.

"She never judged us, as a mum she was always there for us [and] messaged us every day to see how we were doing.

"Those are the things I miss mainly, just her messages every morning."

Mr Macandrew said their father Stephen had also been struggling without Rose.

"He hides his emotions a lot - he's very good at that, he's got the best poker face you'll ever see - but I know that he's not great," he said.

"His world's changed - all it ever was for him was him and mum, for 41 years."

The inquest heard Mr Maguire had driven to the supermarket, but after being told by a passer-by he had damaged a car parked in the next bay to his vehicle, he ended up reversing out of the spot at speed, having hit the accelerator in his automatic car instead of the brakes.

His car collided with a number of others, and by the time it came to a halt, Ms Macandrew was trapped under the wheels, having suffered fatal chest injuries.

When interviewed by police, Mr Maguire had admitted being "confused" at the time, but the court heard he was still allowed to drive, having renewed his licence every three years as required.

Under current legislation, drivers aged over 70 must self-certify to confirm they are safe to drive, but do not require eye tests or medical examinations to back up their claims.

After hearing no concerns had been raised by his GP surgery even after various health issues, assistant coroner Beth Brown said she would write to the transport secretary as she was "concerned that further deaths may arise in circumstances similar to these".

Ms Cattermole echoed the coroner's concerns and wants more scrutiny to be put in place to make sure older drivers are properly assessed to show they are still fit to be behind the wheel.

"First and foremost, I think there should be better communication between the healthcare side [and] the DVLA," she said.

"I've had a lot of messages just recently saying that there's a lot of families in the same boat, where they're wanting to take the keys off a family member, they've even reported a family member to the DVLA, sharing their concerns.

"This I think could have been prevented."

Mr Macandrew said he was also worried about older drivers switching from manual cars to automatic vehicles as they lose power and mobility, which he believes contributed to his mother's death.

"In this respect, if the gentleman was driving a manual car he would've just stalled it, and that would've been the end of it - no-one would've got hurt," he said.

In a statement, the Department for Transport said it would consider the coroner's report once it arrived, adding it was developing a new road safety strategy.

"This is a tragic incident and our thoughts are with Rosemary's family," a spokesperson said.

"All drivers are required to ensure they are medically fit to drive, and all car drivers over 70 must renew their licence every three years.

"The government is committed to improving road safety and we continue to explore ways to achieve this."

For Rose's loved ones, additional measures beyond self-certification are needed.

"Just say this was me and I was the elderly gentleman, and I hadn't been to the doctors in years because I didn't think I needed to go," Ms Cattermole said.

"Then I wouldn't even know that I had something that was potentially detrimental to how I was driving, and the DVLA wouldn't know about that at that point.

"I suppose as you get older your car is your independence, to get around and stuff, so it does make it more difficult, so there should be some better checks in place.

"In reality, who wants to give up their driving licence?"

Last month, another coroner described the UK licensing system as the "laxest in Europe" as he pointed out the UK was one of only three countries to rely upon self-reporting of visual conditions affecting the ability to drive.

HM Senior Coroner for Lancashire Dr James Adeley wrote to the transport secretary following the conclusion of inquests for four people killed by drivers with failing eyesight.

In response, a source close to the transport secretary said the government accepted the rules on eyesight "need to be reassessed".

Follow BBC Nottingham on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.