Ann Logan

A legal expert said suggested changes to the law after the death of Xander Irvine were a “very important step forward in road safety” and that the case had highlighted a “significantly defective” regime for drivers over 70.

Three-year-old Xander died in June 2020 when Edith Duncan veered off Morningside Road and hit him and his mother, Victoria.

His mother and father, Paul, welcomed the findings of Sheriff Principal Nigel Ross following a fatal accident inquiry (FAI) into Xander’s death in August.

The recommendations would mean that rules allowing drivers to self-certify their fitness to drive would stop at 80 – and an application for the renewal of a driving licence would not be granted without a cognitive assessment. Failure to pass the assessment would result in the application for renewal, and any current licence, being suspended pending further assessment.

Sheriff Principal Ross also recommended that the application form for renewing driving licences (D46P) should be changed by the DVLA as a matter of priority, to include further questions about recent driving history.

The investigation into the crash heard that Mrs Duncan, who died in 2021, may have been suffering from a form of Alzheimer’s disease at the time. She cancelled her car insurance in the months leading up to the crash as she “didn’t use her car enough”.

Mrs Duncan had also been parked illegally on a pelican crossing before performing the U-turn which led to the crash.

The FAI heard Mrs Duncan had an earlier accident when she reversed into another vehicle in a supermarket car park in September 2019 – an incident never disclosed to her GP.

Mr and Mrs Irvine said: “We welcome the sheriff principal’s strong recommendations and really hope this can be the starting-point for positive changes to the system. We hope that Xander’s story will go some way in changing not just the legal systems in place but also public perception towards driving in older age. We would like to thank the Sheriff Principal, and the Crown Office for the huge investigations they carried out – and the participants of the inquiry.”

The Irvine family’s legal representative Ann Logan, a partner at Balfour at Manson, said: “This is a very important step forward in the area of safety on the roads. It is clear from the findings of this Inquiry that the current regime for drivers over 70 years is significantly defective. 

“It requires immediate action to strengthen measures and do everything possible to avoid such an unbearable tragedy happening again. Mr and Mrs Irvine’s dignity and strength throughout the process can only be admired and commended.  

“Their wish is that those responsible for effecting change will see this as a priority and adopt the practical procedures that have been explored in such depth following this tragic case.”