Driving at 85 years old - 2.

Dis86 said:
God...imagine it. No longer being stuck doing 25 in a 60. Bliss.
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We can only dream... :/

There's a bloke in his Late 70's that can drive, most on here probably know him.

I met a bloke in his 80' racing in his nearly 100 years old bugatti.

Ill see if I can find a photo

Edit. Found it!
IMG_20170522_193110.jpg
 
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It may be more pronounced in older drivers but there are a massive amount of incompetent drivers out there.

Ideally we'd need a system of on going testing and training. This would keep up standards and make it easier to keep an eye on older drivers. But it would also be expensive and unpopular with most people, unless they got something in return. Maybe introducing Mario Kart style power ups and renaming the M25 toads turnpike is the solution.
 
I am 74 and I curse older drivers - all those over 60 - They do 55 on straight and slow to 30 on slightest corner - I wish I was a traffic cop I would pull over any driver doing 30 on national speed limit road - I am convinced they can't see - they sit on your bumper in a 30 then when 40 or 50 comes they are miles behind. - My wife is not a fast driver but is aware of the road - if she gets stuck behind anything slow and feels unsafe to pass she drops back enough for anyone else to overtake her easily.

When I am out I check my eyes - close one and see picture then close the other to see if it's the same - only do this for fraction of a second -then I see what I can read in way of road signs and so far all is clear - also make myself do a running commentary on road conditions - whats in front and behind -all this to make sure my mind is working.

I have eye tests every year along with yearly tests at doctors - Only another two years before I have to renew my license and at the moment if they introduced a driving test to see if you can still drive safely then I am for it - Not sure I would pass a proper driving test today though - too many habits.

Only problem I can see with testing older people is the vast volume of old people about- bound to be backlogs
 
If you
DXP55 said:
if they introduced a driving test to see if you can still drive safely then I am for it - Not sure I would pass a proper driving test today though - too many habits.

Only problem I can see with testing older people is the vast volume of old people about- bound to be backlogs
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So you although you consider yourself a safe driver you are all for making older people inc yourself take a driving test?
can you imagine how your life would change if you failed the test and then were not allowed to drive,
how infuriated you would be knowing that you are a safe driver and failed for some pathetic reason given by the examiner
The safest drivers on the planet could easily fail a test
 
Usher said:
If you


So you although you consider yourself a safe driver you are all for making older people inc yourself take a driving test?
can you imagine how your life would change if you failed the test and then were not allowed to drive,
how infuriated you would be knowing that you are a safe driver and failed for some pathetic reason given by the examiner
The safest drivers on the planet could easily fail a test
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Hey if that's the case why do we have any tests at all eh? Let's just let anyone drive.
 
With the ageing population, and accompanying physical and mental diceases, the insurance companies are probably going to act if the the claims figures add up, and offer clients reduced premiums for those that voluntarily take additional tests above and beyond what the law demands ?

Although, saying that, they do not seem to have yet nailed a good black box solution for moderating the driving standards of those at the other end of the age spectum, possibly better integation with inbuilt car monitors/electronics can help that.
 
Previous neighbour used to drive at 94. Only about 200m down the road, but still, scary stuff. That said, might not always have a choice and I will be old one day, so not going to judge.
 
sigma said:
Retest everyone every 10 years with that number getting lower as you age. Perhaps 65-70+ every 5 years?
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Exactly, it would improve driving standards. Not only would we see older people giving up driving but we'd see many younger drivers having to up their game to keep their license.
 
Two of my grandparents, both ages 76 I believe, their driving is absolutely appalling, scary in fact. And yet they haven't had a single accident in my lifetime.

No idea how...
 
When riding my motorbike I exercise extreme caution when driving around older people. They generally drive so slow and predictably terrible that it’s obvious that you need to be careful around them, hence few accidents. However, I do get a lot of anxiety when I’m on an NSL road and see a Honda Jazz at a junction ahead with what looks like ET behind the wheel. More than enough times in the past 15 years I’ve had to use the maximum braking force available to avoid being killed, and invariably it has been a geriatric perpetrator.

However the real problem I notice is mobile phone use, particularly among young women. 80 mph on the motorway and they’re texting. I fear one of them will actually kill me one day.
 
K.C. Leblanc said:
Exactly, it would improve driving standards. Not only would we see older people giving up driving but we'd see many younger drivers having to up their game to keep their license.
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Would it though? It’s like any exams, some people are just better at passing them. It doesn’t mean they’re better at the activity. Plenty of the people who passed first time ended up having more accidents and using their phones still whilst driving than those who passed second or third time.

What about all the people who have to drive to get to work (either for work, or because there isn’t good enough local transport). It’d be economic chaos if more than even 1% of drivers failed their retest and had to lose their jobs as a result.

Our roads are already some of the safest in the world. Old drivers are not making them unsafe, statistically. I’d support a single retest at a sensible age, such as 75 or every 25 years perhaps.
 
rhysduck said:
Even so reaction times on the whole are mostly inadequate I would say.
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Not always the case. Plus there are plenty of young people with poor reaction times too. Also those who don't know how to react to avoid an incident.

Scuzi said:
However the real problem I notice is mobile phone use, particularly among young women. 80 mph on the motorway and they’re texting. I fear one of them will actually kill me one day.
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Even in a car these are a hazard. Far worse than most old people tbh. A colleague likes to get along side them and sound the horn as close as possible. Scares the **** out of them and they usually drop the phone.
 
Seeing as more and more "younger" drivers are obsessed with checking their phones while driving and also dont or can't use indicators or judge braking distances I'm all for redoing driving test for everyone every 5 years.
Just think of the extra jobs created.
 
My boss is 76 and drives back and for to Cardiff every other day.

He's never been the best driver to be fair. Most of his cars have some sort of scrape and bump. Funny, as he literally wrote the manual on how to fly Harriers :)

I'm in the "Funny handshakes" and one of the brethren is got to be pushing or past 80 and he races a couple of cars. Not sure what class it is though.
 
at 85 i would say it would be bus pass only for me. It will be hard to stop driving as I love my cars but there is a point when your just not as safe on the road as you once were.

hearing eyesight reactions whatever , my future kids can drive me around they will owe me ;)
 
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