Islington historian treated like a criminal for clipping wing mirror

Published: 7 May, 2010
by PETER GRUNER

ISLINGTON historian Mary Cosh has accused police of being “heavy-handed” after she was followed by a patrol car sounding its siren when she clipped a wing mirror late at night.
Ms Cosh, who is in her 80s and has a disabled parking permit following knee and hip operations, needs her car to get about. She has been told she must now re-sit her driving test.
“I’ve been driving for more than 50 years,” Ms Cosh said. “There’s only been one other motoring incident in my life and that wasn’t my fault.”
She was stopped by a patrol car in Lofting Road, close to her home in Barnsbury, after clipping the wing mirror of a parked car while driving home from an Islington town hall public meeting on the campaign to save Finsbury Health Centre.
Ms Cosh added: “I was treated like a common criminal for a relatively minor incident. It was 10.30pm, quite dark and the road was narrow, with parked cars. I did clip a wing mirror but I couldn’t stop because of parked cars. Besides, there was no way of knowing who the vehicle belonged to. I’m sure this happens a lot.”

She was then followed by a police car with its siren blaring. A uniformed officer told her she had driven away from the scene of an accident. “The owner of the vehicle was contacted while I sat with another officer in the police car. But even the car owner said he thought the damage was relatively slight,” Ms Cosh added.
She is having to spend hundreds of pounds on driving lessons before taking a new test next month.
“It’s bureaucracy gone mad,” Ms Cosh said. “I consider myself a good and careful driver. But if I lose my licence now it will be like cutting off my legs. Without a car I can’t go anywhere.”
Professor Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “The elderly are no more likely to cause accidents than the rest of the population and compared to the young are considerably safer. It is true that the situation begins to change beyond the age of 80 and there will come a time when retiring from driving might be appropriate. However, the car is a lifeline to an increasing number of older drivers and it is vital they are treated sensitively by the licensing authorities.”