‘My son, 11, was hit and killed by an elderly driver – now I want to change the law’

A grieving Orpington mom whose 11-12 months-previous son died following a crash involving an elderly driver has launched a marketing campaign in his honour, in search of to impose extra stringent testing on pensioners in vehicles.

Victoria Battman, 36, was getting ready to give delivery to her second son when she was given the terrible information.

Her son Josh Osborne had been struck by a automobile that failed to cease whereas he was crossing Court Road, in Orpington, after leaving a funfair along with his sister.

Victoria and Josh’s father, Chris Osborne, rushed to the scene of crash in April 2019 the place they witnessed Josh being resuscitated and taken to hospital for remedy for severe head accidents.

Tragically, he died two days afterward the identical day her child boy Luca was born.

‘Losing Josh and giving delivery was extremely troublesome’

Josh’s demise is one thing his household are nonetheless struggling to come to phrases with

For Victoria, the whirlwind of grief and emotion was exhausting to deal with.

She mentioned: “I suffered a number of issues throughout my being pregnant. I had blood clots and was monitored all through.

“It was unbelievably troublesome after what occurred to Josh.

“My son was the sweetest, kindest boy, who by no means preferred to see anybody upset.

“He was at all times serving to folks and had a real coronary heart of gold.

“He is deeply liked and missed by everybody that knew him to this present day and we really feel really misplaced with out him.”

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‘His sentence can by no means be sufficient’

David Lockyer, 75, was sentenced to two years in prison

David Lockyer, 75, was sentenced to two years in jail

Following Josh’s demise, the driver concerned was shortly recognized as 75-12 months previous David Lockyer.

Lockyer was convicted of inflicting demise by careless driving and inflicting demise while unlicensed and sentenced to two years imprisonment in January 2021.

However, Victoria and her household say they will discover no solace in his conviction.

She mentioned: “It’s not sufficient, it by no means shall be sufficient.

“To all households that lose family members this manner, nothing can ever be sufficient.”

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‘The checks on elderly drivers aren’t sturdy sufficient’

In an effort to change the dialog surrounding driving as folks become old, Vicky has began a marketing campaign to introduce ‘Josh’s Law’.

As a part of her marketing campaign she needs a regulation change to make GPs log off on the renewal of driving licences for over 70s.

Currently, you should renew your driving licence each three years after you flip 70 however there are not any legal guidelines on what age you should cease driving.

You can determine when to cease so long as you don’t have any medical circumstances that have an effect on your driving.

Victoria needs GPs to give approval so the DVLA could possibly be made conscious of any medical circumstances an elderly driver has which can have an effect on their potential to drive safely, slightly than counting on declarations by the driver.

So far Victoria’s petition has greater than 2,500 signatures, however she realises she has a great distance to go till she reaches the 100,000 mark which might compel the invoice to be debated in Parliament.

Victoria wants Josh's death to be the force behind a change in legislation

Victoria needs Josh’s demise to be the power behind a change in laws

Undeterred, Victoria says that she’s going to preserve combating to have the regulation launched for the sake of her household and others who’ve misplaced youngsters in related coronary heart-breaking conditions.

She defined: “It’s beginning to transfer fairly a bit presently, at the second we’re making an attempt to get help from different folks to preserve it going.

“There’s a number of signatures we’d like to get and a number of work to be accomplished to get these signatures.

“It’s so vital we have now this dialog about elderly drivers, after going via what we did, I spoke to quite a few households who’ve been via the identical expertise. So many households have misplaced family members this manner – one thing has to change, it might probably’t be allowed to go on anymore.

“We’ve been listening to how a lot of folks get their license mechanically renewed with out reporting their well being circumstances. It all causes accidents. I perceive that previous individuals are reluctant to quit their licenses as it’s key to their independence.

“It’s a means of getting out and speaking with others, it stops them feeling remoted and alone.

“There’s loads of succesful 70 12 months previous drivers, it’s not everyone, however at the second the checks and the regulation aren’t sturdy sufficient.”

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