Same here, prob much better than most <25 drivers too lol.
Driving at 85 years old - 2.
- Thread starter andicole0
- Start date
There should be a mandatory test/check at an old age (to be debated at what specific age) that just goes over reactions, eye tests, strengths and general common sense. To be free and easily carried out.
Maybe even an upper limit enforced regardless. But that will be unfair to some.
However, it's quite a controversial idea which could solve some issues but create new.
A retest every 10 years could be a good idea.
Maybe even an upper limit enforced regardless. But that will be unfair to some.
However, it's quite a controversial idea which could solve some issues but create new.
A retest every 10 years could be a good idea.
Haha! I hear you on the ET issue
When you approach the T junction and you're muttering "Don't you dare, don't you dare, don't you dare.."
Associate
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THIS.
We have to apply for a new license every 10 so why not have a 'refresher' course which constitutes a short 20 or 30 mins practical driving and awareness check? If you pass you get your license renewal and if you fail you are demoted to a provisional license and have to sit a full 1hr retest.
Haha! I hear you on the ET issue
When you approach the T junction and you're muttering "Don't you dare, don't you dare, don't you dare.."
Should have told them to phone home (for a Taxi)
Shawrey
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Arthur! What a legend!
I find most annoyances on the road tend to be middle aged and above men. Where I live they all seem to drive estates and cut across whatever lane they want when driving (basically take the racing line) but they divver about and plod along 10 mph under the speed limit.
My dad is a prime example of this. You can't correct him though because of the classic get out of jail free card he has: "I've been driving xx amount of years"
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Terrible drivers are of all ages. However on my commute to work there is a garden centre and you do see at lot of old people who shouldn't be driving. Worst one I seen was an old women driving 25 MPH on NSL road!
I live in an area with lots of old people and, for the most part, people drive fine. I would add that in general they drive on the slow side but that's ok as I'm sure it's a compensation for lack of reactions/lack of mobility etc.. You do hear the cliches like slipping clutches and revving the car to death, but or the most part that's all.
What I would add is that someone that's driving at the age of 75 could be absolutely fine, but also people can get worse really fast. I've seen it with my dad, who now is 82, when he was 80 he was fine - he had a few issues but nothing I would consider dangerous. Now I, along with two other members of my family, have told him it's time to give up his license. The degradation happened quite fast with respect to his driving, it was shocking the difference 6 months made, but with the others in the family he, begrudgingly, gave up driving.
Things that he started doing for instance:
1) Varied speed in a NSL between 40-80mph+, no reason for the change in speed however.
2)Getting confused with junctions that were not familiar, I know this can happen with everyone but this happened on multiple occasions and when told started arguing rather than getting the car out of the junction.
3)Night blindness, if I wasn't with him he would have side swiped a car on the motorway that was in the next lane(dad was doing less than 50mph as in point 1). It's the only time I've grabbed the steering wheel of another driver ever.
I would say there was no need to retest anyone until at least 70, but after that I would say people can go down hill fast and not everyone is affected the same of course. But I would who-heartedly back a test, doesn't need to be a complete retest just a competency test as you can normally tell quite fast how peoples driving is, every year at the age of 80+. Also have a medical opinion from the drivers' GP. It won't catch everyone, as always, but it'll stop some dangerous people out there who honestly think that they are fine.
What I would add is that someone that's driving at the age of 75 could be absolutely fine, but also people can get worse really fast. I've seen it with my dad, who now is 82, when he was 80 he was fine - he had a few issues but nothing I would consider dangerous. Now I, along with two other members of my family, have told him it's time to give up his license. The degradation happened quite fast with respect to his driving, it was shocking the difference 6 months made, but with the others in the family he, begrudgingly, gave up driving.
Things that he started doing for instance:
1) Varied speed in a NSL between 40-80mph+, no reason for the change in speed however.
2)Getting confused with junctions that were not familiar, I know this can happen with everyone but this happened on multiple occasions and when told started arguing rather than getting the car out of the junction.
3)Night blindness, if I wasn't with him he would have side swiped a car on the motorway that was in the next lane(dad was doing less than 50mph as in point 1). It's the only time I've grabbed the steering wheel of another driver ever.
I would say there was no need to retest anyone until at least 70, but after that I would say people can go down hill fast and not everyone is affected the same of course. But I would who-heartedly back a test, doesn't need to be a complete retest just a competency test as you can normally tell quite fast how peoples driving is, every year at the age of 80+. Also have a medical opinion from the drivers' GP. It won't catch everyone, as always, but it'll stop some dangerous people out there who honestly think that they are fine.
Those advo
yeah ? what happens if you fail the full retest? banned from driving? demoted to a provisional license with accompanying driver? if you and the others here who suggest a regular retest, did it and failed and your insurance quadrupled, you would be the first to moan that it was unfair along with thousands of others.
How many people would lose their jobs because there is no reliable bus service anymore, particularly in rural areas.
Quite a few posters here have a general dislike for older drivers simply because they are too slow etc, as young drivers are proven to be the most likely to cause an accident how about making you wait till your 25 before you can even get a licence, that wouldn't go down very well would it
yeah ? what happens if you fail the full retest? banned from driving? demoted to a provisional license with accompanying driver? if you and the others here who suggest a regular retest, did it and failed and your insurance quadrupled, you would be the first to moan that it was unfair along with thousands of others.
How many people would lose their jobs because there is no reliable bus service anymore, particularly in rural areas.
Quite a few posters here have a general dislike for older drivers simply because they are too slow etc, as young drivers are proven to be the most likely to cause an accident how about making you wait till your 25 before you can even get a licence, that wouldn't go down very well would it
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Yeah, the retest idea is silly if you lose your license with a fail. It would make more sense to have a time limit to pass again if you failed the retest, e.g. within 6 months or a year, rather than losing your licence (and livelihood) straight away.
You'd probably just have an increase in the number of unlicenced, uninsured drivers with such a system which would completely outweigh any increase in driving standards on the road as well as all of the economic and personal misery caused by job losses where alternative transport isn't viable (i.e. everywhere except major cities).
You'd probably just have an increase in the number of unlicenced, uninsured drivers with such a system which would completely outweigh any increase in driving standards on the road as well as all of the economic and personal misery caused by job losses where alternative transport isn't viable (i.e. everywhere except major cities).
So again...Why have a test in the first place? Why don't we just let anyone drive however they want?
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People who have never driven structure their lives around not being able to drive. They don't apply for jobs that aren't served by public transport, jobs that require motorway travel, etc. People who drive structure their entire lives around being able to drive. It's a not question of what the point of the test is, it's a question of whether the benefits of retesting would outweigh the effects of potentially millions of people losing their licences. There's 45.5 million drivers in the UK - how many do you think would fail a retest?
Retesting doesn't really solve a problem (this idea that our driving standards are a problem seems to have popped up out of nowhere) but has the potential to create huge social and economic problems across the country. It's a stupid idea.
Just out of curiosity how many 70+ year old pensioners do you know that work?
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Quite a few actually. Maybe 5 or 6? Increasing numbers of people are continuing to work past retirement age.
What's your point? This retesting wouldn't just affect old people...
That it's unlikely to have this huge economic effect you're harping on about.
Driving is not a right. If you can no longer do it to the required standard then tough luck. Find an alternative just like those who can't do it to the required standard have to in the first place.
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The retesting that's proposed by people in this thread is for every driver, not just those over 70...
You'd have millions of people suddenly losing their licences after years of driving without incident, not being able to get to work, losing driving jobs, it'd be chaos.You'd then have more people driving uninsured, unlicenced than before with already stretched police resources, people out of work starting drink and drug habits, suicides... It's a mad idea and the driving standards in this country are already probably the highest in the world.
The retesting that's proposed by people in this thread is for every driver, not just those over 70...
You'd then have more people driving uninsured, unlicenced than before with already stretched police resources, people out of work starting drink and drug habits, suicides... It's a mad idea and the driving standards in this country are already probably the highest in the world.
The thread is about elderly drivers.
What you're still saying however is that if you pass a single test, no matter how terrible you may be at something it's fine...just keep on doing it.
There's a reason any industry qualification requires regular refreshers or retests. Even if people's livelihoods depend on it.
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I love how we're worried about people losing their licence if they fail a retest, surely that's the damn point is getting idiots off the road who cant even drive to a proper standard for 30 minutes every ten years.
I expect most drivers would claim they are good at it, how do we know your not one of those idiots ( your words) who can't even drive to a proper standard but don't actually realise it yourself ??
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I'm not saying that at all. I'm just saying that the idea of retesting with an immediate loss of driving licences for failure is a fundamentally bad idea and if implemented tomorrow, would cause unnecassary chaos and not actually improve driving standards at all.