Mossman

Morning all,

I have just spoken to a friend - we use the same cobblers / dry cleaning shop in a fairly big modern shopping development. The shop is directly in front of the main car park and there are spaces outside.

At the weekend the chap working there was a little surprised to find a car reversing into the shop, through the security bollard and through the shop window. The car stopped a metre from the counter. Luckily no one was hurt....

The 81 year old lady driving had selected reverse by mistake and then gave the loud pedal a good seeing too!!!!!!

Not good. Anyone care to comment..?? I know what I think, that there should be some SERIOUS means of testing people once they hit a certain age and then retested regularly. I have seen and have heard far too many incidents / accidents which could have been fatal involving the elderly when driving. I do however sympathise with people reluctant to let go of their freedom and transport. There must be something that could be done (possibly spend some money on our public transport!).

Cheers,

Mossman

south-star

Personally,i dont find old people any more dangerous than other drivers.They may be a bit slow at times but some of the stupidest drivers are 17-20 year olds,screeching round corners and the like.
My grandad had his motorbike license taken off him(refused insurance) at 90.It was really sad cos it took away his only sense of freedom.

Mossman

Yep, I agree, it's not all elderley drivers causing the problems. The freedom aspect is the concern I would have . . . like I said, if we had some decent public transport....

Mossman

Scooby Snacks 23

Your licence is only valid until you are 70, and I think then you only need an eye test and to re-apply for a new one.

Is that right? I know mine expires at 70.

An interesting thing a copper told me when he pulled me years ago when I was racing around in my XR2, "a driving licence is a privilege sonny, not a right".

Will never forget that!

what would scooby do

I think there should be compulsory retests for everybody every 5 years. This is the only way to ensure standards are upheld no matter age or sex etc. Also from what I have been told the theory test is a joke and should be made much more difficult..

basal_lobe

once they get to 60 they should remove their licence and make them do a retest.
If they fail then they can start walking. Old people are a menace and need to be taken off the road unless they can prove their skills.

While were at it they should also raise the age you can start driving to 21. I'm all for much harsher regular checks medical and driving take some of the idiots off the road.

They should also drug/drink test all applicants if they have traces of drugs or a high level of alcohol ban them too.

The Zohan

Having been the victim of an elderly 'gentleman' driver and likely to suffer back problems for the rest of my life i am a tad biased.

It is fact that your reaction times get longer, eyesight gets poorer as you get older, in some cases at an early age. Surley a basic eyetest or medical and reaction test in a driving simulator or such would be a good idea also anyone who is responsible for an accident.

A friends father has just got rid of his car, he is in his eighties, he has had four accidents in the last year, all his fault, all him hitting other objects/cars. His sight is failing him and he is looking at going into sheltered housing as he is getting to the point he needs help being looked after. He was pursuaded to give up driving by his son and daughter and the fact he could not affoird to do it anymore. He did not want to or see why he should. He lives not far from a primary school, makes me shudder to think what could have happened.

I recon that an eyetest and reaction test for all drivers every five years is probably a good idea anyway.

I just hope i realise when it is time to quit, won't be easy i am sure.

[Edited by Paul Habgood - 4/15/2003 10:59:27 AM]

Scoobychick

iTrader: (1)

That's a bit harsh and unjustified isn't it? My Dad is 63 and still drives his MY00 (modded) Scooby Turbo with a great combination of skill, judgement and speed which he's accrued throughout his 40 odd years of driving.

Just because you reach the age of 60 doesn't immediately qualify you for the knackers yard



[Edited by scoobychick - 4/15/2003 10:58:44 AM]

unclebuck

lol @ banal load... scoobynet's latest wind up troll

Brendan Hughes

Just let my wife (late 30s) out around the quiet streets for the first time with L plates on Sunday, rather than tootling round the car park as usual.

Thank God it was in our old banger. Mounted a kerb and almost sideswiped a tree. Didn't bother stopping at junctions, just drifted through them. A few wide-eyed other drivers suddenly braking.

A long way to go until I let her drive the new car, methinks.

(NB - a long way until any of us drive the new car, at this rate )

SWRTWannabe

How about a compulsory retest if you are involved in an accident and are found to be at fault?

Dave Thornton

Quote: That's a bit harsh and unjustified isn't it? My Dad is 63 and still drives his MY00 (modded) Scooby Turbo with a great combination of skill, judgement and speed which he's accrued throughout his 40 odd years of driving.

Just because you reach the age of 60 doesn't immediately qualify you for the knackers yard

... If this is the case, then he would have no problem retaking his test. My Dad's 63 and his standard of driving has declined. The thing is, he believes it's always other people who are driving badly, so I'd rather an examiner and not me tell him just how good (or bad) his driving is. I'm all for retests every 5 years, from youngsters upwards.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

I got reversed over by some dozy old cow as a kid, sat on my push bike chatting to my cousin (also astride a push bike) and we both get the full force of a Skoda Estelle on us, I was trapped between the kerb and the back of this car and as she couldnt get back because of the "obstruction" she was revving it thinking it was stuck, probably the scariest experience of my life, I had bruises, sprains and a big burn of the exhaust. A passer by stopped her and she moves forwards to get off me and Nick, I couldnt get up winded so she gets out (no mean feat as she was BIG and had those ankles bigger than your waist) gives us a mouth full and drives off, I had a week off school to recover, Police did nothing.

She must have been seventy plus and on all kinds of medication for her elephantiasis of the ankles, what a mess and all she could do was tell us we were stupid for standing behind parked cars !

She had a good 15 feet but because of her impairment I dont think she could turn the wheel properly !


Anyway, some people avoid getting to this point, take my dad, arrived at our house on his Fireblade telling me he had just done 130 racing a ZZR 1100 (and beat it) on a Saturday afternoon, 56 and daft as ever.

CarpetCleaner

I was taken from behind by an 'elderly chap', I was stopped and he just stuffed it up my @rse. I endedup giving the guy in front a touch too.

My back is now weak and one of the reasons why I don't get my hands dirty anymore

Old people are as bad a very young people but old people are worse. They end up leaving a trail of chaos and distruction behind them totally feckin oblivious and then say they are never involved in accidents

*******

basal_lobe

Harsh but fair carpet cleaner

CarpetCleaner

it's so true though.....feckin old people get in the way anywhere

since I been in between jobs I do the Sainsbury's shop on a friday afternoon

all the retired couples oh FFS...you get all the blokes looking feckin vacant while the wife gets all the food....you even see them getting ready to pick something off the shelf and getting a slap from the b1tch

they just get in the way, one young women tried squeezing past a meeting of the old people's day out committee holding a meet in the ailse where all the tinned toms and kidney beans are and she endup knocking a diplay over......just cause the old ******* either wouldn't get out of the way or didn't even know they were in the way

OLD PEOPLE get a feckin PC...order from Tesco on line and get the **** out of everyone's way

*******

TelBoy

Carpet Cleaner, at what age would you be happy to surrender your own licence?

basal_lobe

I have to say you are really talking a lot of sense carpet cleaner. Your views are straight forward and its hard to argue with logic like that.

CarpetCleaner

TelBoy

I think I'd probs be happy to surrender my licence at the point where I'd no longer be able to pass the DOT Driving licence test

I'd me more than happy to do a retest on an annual basis as a bloke from retirement age upwards, when I could no longer pass i'd hang up my drivers gloves I reckon

TelBoy

Fair enough. I'd also broadly support that, though the bureaucracy and cost of such a scheme would make it all but impossible to implement. And the Tories would never introduce it - that would take away 50%+ of their vote...

CarpetCleaner

In all honesty I really enjoy my driving and I think I'd probs end up giving up when I no longer found it enjoyable

I suspect in reality most old people give up when they have an accident be it a minor knock or a big shunt

I took my grandfather to knock over a motorcyclist before he gave up, thankfully it was low speed and the guy was OK

ADP

my dads dad was still zipping around the roads in his pegeout 205 at the age of 88, and quite frankly he was a liability. He had angina(sp?) and was liable, and did have blackouts at the wheel, though no one knew this and he was lucky he didnt have an accident.

He also had a very dodgy right leg, with next to no movement in it, yet he still chose to drive, because he wanted to keep his freedom.

Eventually my Dad had to talk him out of driving, but he would have kept going if hed had his own way. Later on however, he realised that all his freedom actually was, was a few shopping trips and whist drives etc, for which he got taxis too. Probloem solved.

the thing is, there are lots more people like that on the roads, they dont do it maliciously, its just they dont realise how much their eyesight/reactions etc have degraded over the years. I for one should imagine Ill want to keep driving as long as possible, and will not realise how my driving has changed at 85.

Andrew Dixon

I didn't realise that Finbarr Saunders used the forum?

DrEvil

Would agree that very young drivers can be as bad as very old drivers, but for different reasons.

angrynorth

I think WWSD has a fair point. A retest every 5 years should improve standards throughout all ages. There are plenty of drivers out there at all ages who really, really should not be driving.