Why is Prince Phil still driving?

Maybe...maybe...there are 97-year olds who are more adept and alert at driving than people half that age. Maybe. Then again, maybe not.

It's difficult for me to understand why Prince Phil continues driving. Vanity Fair:

As if being in a car accident that left him seriously shaken wasn’t enough, the Duke of Edinburgh is now at the center of a public relations storm, and Buckingham Palace courtiers can’t seem to keep a lid on it. The 97-year-old royal hit a small Kia sedan with his Land Rover while leaving the Sandringham estate last Thursday. The incident has provided tabloid fodder for days, and continued to do so Monday when one of the passengers involved made an appearance on national television on Monday. She criticized the treatment she has received by the police and what she called disappointing behavior on the part of the royal family.

Emma Fairweather, a passenger in the car, said she feels the royal should have reached out to her personally after the accident, which involved another woman and a nine-month old-baby. Fairweather suffered a broken wrist while the rest of those involved escaped the crash uninjured. According to a witness, Philip said at the scene that he was “dazzled” by bright sunlight when he pulled out onto the busy road and smashed into the Kia. Philip’s Land Rover flipped across the motorway, and the sedan was badly damaged when it crashed into the shoulder.
[.]
Land Rover scored some good publicity when they delivered a new vehicle to the Palace the next day. But outrage ensued when the Daily Mail published photographs of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh—back in the driving seat less than 48 hours after the crash—on the road apparently without their seatbelts. There have been calls for the 97-year-old Duke to give up his drivers license, prompting a debate about whether a man of his age should still legally be allowed to drive.

ET Online: Prince Philip driving two days after car crash.  

Sky News: In 2016, Obama says Phil's driving "very smooth riding." 

The duke drove former US president Barack Obama and his wife Michelle during their state visit in 2016.

Mr Obama said later: "I can report that it was very smooth riding. 

 Image: Sky News

Okay-dokey, let's look at the above pic. To me, just sayin', appears Michelle has the usual backseat-driver look on her face and is saying something similar.

The Queen? She's ready to make an escape in a moment's notice if needed.

Barry? You know he's thinking, "Is this old fuck going to kill us all?"

And Prince Phil? He's everyone's Uncle that "ate-waaaaay-too-much Thanksgiving dinner" and is about to fall asleep, mid-sentence, in a comfy chair. Just before telling you where he has all his money hidden. And when you jar him out of his momentary slumber he won't remember what he was going to tell you anyway, so you let him drift off.

From the same Sky News link:

The incident is bound to raise questions about whether Prince Philip, who retired from public engagements in 2017 and had a hip replacement in May last year, is still able to drive safely.

Yeah...we've had our share of (now departed) family members who've had hip replacement, at ages younger than 97. Mid-70's and early 80's. Recovery was slow but successful. I remember Docs advising "don't drive for at least 3 months." So, for someone at 97, driving six or seven months after hip surgery? That seems risky to me; a risk to himself and others - both of which he, unfortunately, succeeded.

Your thoughts? OH - AND WITHOUT LOOKING BACK AT THE IMAGE...DO THE OBAMAS AND THE ROYALS APPEAR TO BE WEARING THEIR SEAT-BELTS, AS REQUIRED BY...LAW? No peeking back now!

One more thing: Land Rover...Okay, nice of them to give the Royals a new one, but how about doing the same for Emma Fairweather and others injured? Where is KIA? Unless I missed it, they didn't pony up a new vehicle for the victims either. How can a business MISS a chance for a great PR opportunity like that? I'm available for PR consulting. Seriously. The first thing I would have done is advised both KIA and Land Rover to give Ms. Fairweather a free, new vehicle. Both companies would have benefited by being part in every, single local, national and international television and radio news cast across the world -  and the internet - for a minimum of a solid 24-hour news cycle. The free, positive feedback from social media they would have received? Its value = Incalculable. How could they miss? WTF? (And I am for hire. Freelance/Indie Contract basis. We'll talk.)

It's Sunday. Drive carefully and Be Nice to others. Because I know where you live.

UPDATE, The NYT: Phil says he's, "deeply sorry" about car crash.

The Duke of Edinburgh sent an apology letter to Emma Fairweather, who sustained a broken wrist when his Land Rover hit the Kia minivan in which she was traveling near the royal estate of Sandringham on Jan. 17.

In the note, written on Sandringham stationery and dated Jan. 21, the duke said he was “deeply sorry” and wished Ms. Fairweather a “speedy recovery.” He also acknowledged that the accident had left him “somewhat shaken,” a rare admission from a member of the royal family.

And then...Phil was off in his new Land Rover, to run over more commoners. Nah, just kidding.