A 93-YEAR-OLD driver banned from the wheel for six months after crashing through a park fence says he now feels like a "prisoner" in his own home.
Jim Sims, of Daffodil Way, Chelmsford, says his foot accidentally slipped on to the accelerator from the brake pedal on the New Nabbotts Way 'T' junction while on his way to post a letter.
He narrowly missed a cyclist, crashing through a park fence, before hitting concrete bollards on a nearby green.
The Second World War veteran, who says he has 32 great grandchildren, claims he can no longer travel on the motorway to watch his beloved Arsenal Football Club.
"There's no justice," he said.
"Fifty years I've been driving to Arsenal, I've been a season ticket holder for 20 years going from here to the Emirates Stadium, down the M11 and the M25 north circular – and I have never had a scrape.
"Then one day I go from here to post a letter at 4pm in the afternoon – slipping off of the brake pedal on to the accelerator.
"All the police want to do is to stop me driving because I look old. They are trying to get me off the road."
Mr Sims was fined £100, £90 court costs and a £20 victim surcharge on Tuesday, June 4, at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court, for the incident on March 18.
He was charged with driving without due care or attention and will now have to retake a driving test if he wants to get back on the road once his ban is finished.
His Vauxhall Astra 1.8 convertible, worth £21,750, was written off after the incident but a buyer is now offering about £7,000 for it.
Yet Mr Sims voluntarily surrendered his licence on March 19, and while the police said he failed the '20.5 metres eye sight test', he says he passed a Specsavers eye test on Monday.
The arthritis sufferer and former electronic mechanic added: "I'm a prisoner in my own home now. These four walls are a prison to me.
"Without that car I am lost. I have got a bus pass yes, but I have to walk around to the bus stop and I can't do that."
His son, Terry, said: "It's disgraceful. They didn't have to crucify him but they did – they intimidated him."
The current UK licensing system requires drivers aged 70 or over to apply to have their driving licence renewed.
They must also complete a self declaration of fitness to drive.
They then have to reapply for their licence to be renewed every three years.
Pc Andy Sumner of Chelmsford Road Policing Unit said: "Essex Police are dealing with more instances where motorists are driving after a point in their life when they are not fit to do so through mobility, reactions, eye sight, or the combination of medications.
"It is a difficult decision for motorists to make as we are ever reliant on the convenience of having a car.
"However, it would also be a tragedy for the driver if they spend the later years of life knowing that they had seriously hurt or killed someone.
"Essex Police aim to reduce serious and fatal collisions and hope that the mature members of our community will make the responsible decision."
