In early March this year, a security camera in Jõgeva town center captured an incident that even the most unshockable of viewers may find disturbing.

The footage showed a 34-year-old mother pushing a stroller across a crosswalk. Next, a car, driven by a 79-year-old woman, hit the woman, who had already started the crossing when traffic was clear.

The woman is next seen galling to the ground as the stroller gets dragged along in front of the car, until the vehicle stops.

The driver then leaves the scene.

As if by miracle, the parties involved escaped with only minor injuries, plus damage to the stroller. The incident however echoed a much more tragic incident that took place not far from Jõgeva, in Tartu, last May.

In this case, an eight-month-old child hit by a which failed to stop at a crosswalk passed away a few days later in the hospital.

The child's mother still suffers from severe health issues as a result of the accident and the tragedy.

The driver at fault was an 84-year-old man, who was not stripped of his license as a result.

Several months later, after exhibiting more dangerous driving, he caught the attention of the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) once again, and this time was barred from driving, while his vehicle was impounded.

These events sharply raised questions in society about what can be done with drivers who should not be behind the wheel, due to their health and general fitness to drive.

All the parties involved expressed a feeling that their hands were tied and the system was broken.

Raul Annuka, head of the PPA's Northern Prefecture accident investigation group, said: "Yes, I can say that the system is somewhat broken and a bit complicated, while the PPA lacks some leverage in preventing or influencing the course of such situations."

Meanwhile, family doctor Elle-Mall Sadrak told "Impulss" there is currently no system in place that would allow any medical professional to revoke the license of the driver in question, on health grounds.

At present there are over 108,000 active drivers in Estonia who are older than 65, including 54 aged between 95 and 99.

Last year, elderly drivers were at fault in 165 traffic accident cases in which there were victims, "Impulss" continued.

"Impulss" compiled some examples of incidents in the accompanying video montage (see below, viewer discretion advised).

The "Impulss" episode also visited Hlib, an 11-year-old boy who was backed into by an 84-year-old male driver, while the boy was waiting for a friend outside the apartment block he lives in.

The incident happened on Good Friday, March 29, and fortunately Hlib is making a recovery in hospital.

Experts told "Impulss" that the elderly do not particularly stand out in terms of their involvement in traffic accidents statistics, though they tend to be involved in a higher than average number of minor collisions or incidents.

Currently, the law requires individual drivers to obtain and renew their medical certificate every 10 years, to retain their driving license.

Those older than 65 must do this every five years.

However, as pointed out by both the PPA and family doctors who spoke to the show, the issue lies in the fact that it is impossible to invalidate a medical, and thereby the therefor driving license, without that individual's consent – even when a health issue which might affect driving abilities arises.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!